Legendary boxer Mike Tyson is facing a $1.6 million lawsuit for allegedly breaching a deal with a gambling company, days after a Saudi royal offered him a staggering $700 million for a rematch with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
The lawsuit against Tyson came after Medier, a UK-based promotion company that promotes online casino and betting provider Rabona, accused the 58-year-old and the latter’s company, Tyrannic, of breaching a contract following the Netflix special announcement in March. According to Medier, the contract was signed in January.
The promotion company claimed that the deal fell through due to a scheduling dispute. The fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was initially scheduled for July 2024, but had to be postponed due to Tyson’s health problems. It was eventually held in November.
The lawsuit, filed in October in London, claims Tyson cost Medier about $1.59 million (1.5 million euros). The company’s lawyer called the firing “hasty and unlawful” in documents released Friday.
“The real reason for Mr. Tyson’s hasty and unlawful disassociation from Tyrannic was that Mr. Tyson had accepted a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight influencer Jake Paul,” Medier’s statement reads.
Tyson’s counsel also issued a statement to the Post. “The company’s position is that Medier, Ltd. materially breached the terms of its licensing agreement on multiple occasions and in a variety of ways. As such, Tyrannic, LLC was within its legal and contractual rights to terminate the licensing agreement for material breach in an effort to mitigate further damage to the reputation of the Tyson brand,” it said.
What happened when Mike Tyson faced Jake Paul?
Paul, 27, defeated Tyson in a one-sided fight that was streamed live on Netflix in a highly-anticipated clash last month. Although the fight was supposedly set up, Tyson has the chance to get revenge in a “real fight” once again after receiving a real offer.
According to a report from FTTV Boxing, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chief Turki Alalshikh has offered Tyson a huge sum if he beats Paul in a three-minute knockout victory.
“Jake Paul is a joke. I will give Mike Tyson $700 million if he agrees to fight Jake Paul this time in a real fight and wins by knockout in a maximum of three minutes,” Alalshikh said.
