England’s Eddie Hearn, the man at the top of Matchroom Boxing, isn’t a big fan of social media boxing sensation Jake Paul. With Paul’s big fight against former undisputed champion Mike Tyson right around the corner, the British promoter seems to have gone scorched earth on the fight. This update comes days ahead of the hearing for a defamation lawsuit Hearn filed against Paul.

In September 2022, ‘The Problem Child’ accused Eddie Hearn of bribing veteran boxing judge Glenn Feldman in two key fights. The first involved Katie Taylor‘s split-decision victory over Amanda Serrano, a fight in which Taylor, promoted by Hearn, secured the win and retained her undisputed title. Feldman had scored the bout 97-93 in Taylor’s favor. 

Meanwhile, the second fight involved Matchroom Boxing fighter Anthony Joshua against Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in August 2022. While Usyk won the fight via split decision, Feldman had scored the bout 115-113 in Joshua’s favor. Hearn, of course, denied the allegations and proceeded to file a defamation lawsuit against Paul in September of the same year. 

The court hearing for this lawsuit is set for October 16th this year after a U.S. District Court judge in New York denied the motion to dismiss the case. Amid this hail storm, Hearn spoke to a reporter from the BBC, where he shared his take on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on November 15th at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

Speaking to the media outlet, Hearn revealed MVP Promotions, Serrano’s promoter owned by Jake Paul, sent an amazing offer, so he could not deny Taylor from fighting in the undercard of Paul vs. Tyson. “Financially, it’s the biggest purse of her career. I won’t be watching the main event. We’ll be there defending the belts, and then I’ll be off.” However, that leaves us with: Why would Hearn take such a drastic measure? 

Eddie Hearn condemns Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

Explaining his reasoning behind his decision to avoid the fight, Hearn claimed, “This is dangerous, irresponsible and, in my opinion, disrespectful to the sport of boxing.” It’s worth noting that Tyson and Paul were supposed to fight in July, but the 58-year-old suffered an ulcer flare-up, pushing the fight date to November. 

Reacting to this postponement, Hearn claimed this should have been the moment they realized the fight should not be happening in the first place. “Everybody loves a dollar bill, including me, but sometimes the green-eyed monster can make you some bad decisions – and I think this is one of them,” Hearn added.

He explained that even 20 years ago when Tyson retired from the sport, “He was shot, completely finished,” suggesting that it was sad to see him in that state. Emphasizing how much of a fan he is of the boxing legend, Hearn concluded, “You only need to speak to him and look at him to know this guy should not be in a ring again.”

That being said, one could argue that Hearn’s hatred towards the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight could be because of the allegations Paul made against him in 2022. However, considering his compassionate explanation of why the fight shouldn’t happen, it seems like he is really worried. What do you think?