Mike Tyson, 58, is facing a 1.46 million ($1.59 million) lawsuit after he allegedly broke an agreement with a gambling promotional company by fighting the 27-year-old Jake Paul in November.
Medier, a media company promoting gambling brand Rabona, is suing Tyson for failing to honor a deal signed with the Cyprus-based business in January. The lawsuit was filed at London’s High Court in October ahead of the fight.
Tyson and his fighting venture Tyrannic allegedly backed out of their agreement with Medier in March after claiming a breach of their own. The fight against Paul – originally slated for July 20 – was announced on the same day. Paul defeated Tyson by a unanimous decision at the A&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas on November 15 in front of a crowd of over 73,000 people.
In the lawsuit, Medier expressed how their actions did not merit a breach and Tyson’s sudden departure caused 1.46 million in damage.
“The true reason for Mr Tyson and Tyrannic’s hasty and unlawful termination was because Mr. Tyson had agreed [to] a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight the influencer Jake Paul,” Medier and their lawyers wrote.
Tyson and Tyrannic are yet to formally contest the lawsuit and may file a defense in the coming days. Both Tyson and Medier were reached for comment by the Mirror U.S.
While the fight may have lacked emphatic punches and featured a slew of streaming delays, it was a tremendous commercial success for Netflix.
The media giants reported that streaming “peaked at 65 million concurrent streams watching around the world, with 38 million concurrent streams in the United States” per a PR release.
Paul reportedly took home a $40 million purse while Tyson netted $20 million. The earnings were slightly lopsided because A) Paul promoted the fight and B) his large social-media following. The fight itself was littered with advertisements for sports betting company Draftkings.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won,” Tyson wrote on X a day after the fight. “Im grateful for last night. No regrets to get in [the] ring one last time.”
“I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won,” he continued.
“To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you.”
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