Promoter behind Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight responds to ‘baseless claims’ match was rigged
Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions said in a statement Monday that recent speculation that Paul’s Nov. 15 record-breaking match against Mike Tyson was rigged or scripted is “incorrect and baseless.”
The company, which partnered with Netflix for what was the most-streamed global sporting event in history, insisted they complied with all appropriate regulations for a match that was sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR).
“Both fighters in good faith performed to the best of their abilities with the goal of winning the fight,” MVP’s statement said. “There were absolutely no restrictions, contractual or otherwise, around either fighter. Each boxer was able to use his full arsenal to win the fight. Any agreement to the contrary would violate TDLR boxing rules.”
Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) earned a unanimous decision against former heavyweight champion Tyson (50-7, 44 KOs). The judges scored it 80-72, 79-73, 79-73, with the former YouTube star winning the striking battle 78-18 across eight two-minute rounds.
The event attracted a record-breaking gate at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Nov. 15 with 72,300 fans in attendance leading to $18,117,072 US in total revenue, a record for boxing and mixed martial events held outside of Las Vegas. Netflix saw the fight peak at a record 65 million concurrent streams.
However, reaction to the fight came with questions about its authenticity from big names in the sport, including Hall of Famer Oscar de la Hoya, who posted on social media, “Everybody is talking about how staged this fight was. I do believe it was scripted and I believe that Tyson was certainly held back.
“Look, I’m a fighter and I can see it. It goes on their record and it was sanctioned. Jake Paul paid to get the W on his record! For what? For your own personal satisfaction? I keep telling you, if you want to be a real fighter like you say you want to be, what are you doing? Who’s next? Joe Biden? You have to fight real fighters.”
Paul himself fuelled some of the rumours when asked in the post-match press conference whether he took his foot off the gas in round three. “Yeah, definitely. Definitely a bit,” he told reporters. “I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.”
MVP said it was “illogical and inane” to suggest the company would risk a new and potentially lucrative partnership with Netflix by breaking the rules.
“Trash talk and speculation are common in sports, and athletes and promoters need to tolerate nonsensical commentary, jokes and opinions. But suggesting anything other than full effort from these fighters is not only naive but an insult to the work they put into their craft and to the sport itself.”
MVP’s co-founder, Nakisa Bidarian, defended Paul, a YouTube millionaire-turned-pro athlete.
“From day one in this sport, people have doubted his abilities, unable to reconcile how someone with his background has accomplished so much in such a short time,” Bidarian said Monday. “Jake has not only proven himself repeatedly, but he has continuously set historic records that speak for themselves. … As long as Jake continues to exceed expectations, there will always be those who try to discredit his achievements. We embrace the doubt, it only fuels Jake to work harder and achieve greater success.”
