Most Valuable Promotions, the company co-founded by Jake Paul and responsible for organizing the Netflix bout between Paul and “Iron” Mike Tyson has released a statement after many viewers called the fight as a sham.
A statement released on Nov. 25, comes in the wake of the hugely watched showdown between 27-year-old Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson. While the event itself was undoubtedly a gigantic success, some subscribers of the world’s No. 1 streaming platform were doubtful of the legitimacy of the fight, leading to conspiracy theories that ranged from “The Baddest Man on the Planet” having to pull his punches, to money man Jake Paul admonishing Tyson for hurting him during the eight-round bout.
The spectacle generated a live gate of more than $18 million at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, and was viewed by an estimated audience of more than 108 million around the world. In response to what MVP called “baseless claims,” the fight organizers wrote; “Rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime in the United States of America. Paul vs. Tyson was a professional match sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). Both fighters in good faith performed to the best of their abilities with the goal of winning the fight. There were absolutely no restrictions — contractual or otherwise — around either fighter.”
Some commentators had theorized that Tyson was unable to use his upper-cut.
Not so, say MVP: “Any agreement to the contrary would violate TDLR boxing rules.”
MVP Promotions say that ‘Fake Fight’ Talk is ‘Illogical and Inane’
“It is further illogical and inane that MVP, in the debut of a hopeful long-term partnership with the world’s biggest streamer — an organization that made its first-ever foray into live professional sports with Paul vs. Tyson — would even so much as consider such a perverse violation of the rules of competition.”
The statement was double-down by Jake Paul’s MVP co-founder. “This is not the first time Jake Paul has faced unfounded skepticism or outright disbelief as a professional athlete,” says Nakisa Bidarian. “And, frankly, the claim that this bout must have been rigged is just the latest backhanded compliment to come his way.” Bidarian went to explain that he feels there are those that seek to discredit Pauls’ success because they have been unable to accept his abilities, and huge box office success. “We embrace the doubt — it only fuels Jake to work harder to achieve greater success,” concluded Bidarian.
The reaction to the statement on social media has been as mixed as one would expect. “The fact that you’ve had to make this statement just makes it look even more rigged!” wrote one Instagram user, while another added; “This was always gonna happen, people can’t accept that Jake is currently a better boxer so they call it rigged.” As for his next move,
“The Problem Child” expected to face Darren Watkins Jr, known better as the popular streamer “IShowSpeed” next year, so interest in Paul’s brand of boxing is still on a high. Of course, nobody wants to see fixed boxing matches, but feel free to fix any buffering issues.
