Promoter Behind Jake Paul-Mike Tyson Fight Responds to ‘Baseless Claims’ Boxing Match Was Rigged: ‘Illogical and Inane’

Jake Paul‘s Most Valuable Promotions, the company that partnered with Netflix for the Nov. 15 livestreamed fight between Paul and Mike Tyson, has responded to allegations that the match was somehow rigged or faked.

“Following the wide circulation of incorrect and baseless claims that undermine the integrity of the Paul vs. Tyson event, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) would like to set the record straight regarding the contractual agreements and the nature of the fight,” the company said in a statement Monday.

The MVP statement continued, “Rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime in the U.S. Paul vs. Tyson was a professional match 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. 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.”

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Paul, 27, defeated Tyson, 58, in eight rounds in a unanimous decision in the heavyweight fight, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Popular podcaster Joe Rogan is among those who have insinuated the fight was not a “real” fight. “I’m happy that Mike got the money and I’m happy that he didn’t get hurt,” Rogan said on the Nov. 21 episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “That was my fear, that it was going to be a real fight and he was going to get hurt.”

MVP, in its statement, said, “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 naïve but an insult to the work they put into their craft and to the sport itself. 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.”

MVP was founded in 2021 by Paul, the YouTuber and social-media personality who launched a pro boxing career, and business partner Nakisa Bidarian.

“This is not the first time Jake Paul has faced unfounded skepticism or outright disbelief as a professional athlete, and frankly, the claim that his bout must have been rigged is just the latest backhanded compliment to come his way,” Bidarian said in a statement. “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.”

Paul, on the Nov. 19 episode of his brother Logan Paul’s “Impaualsive” podcast, also responded to allegations that the Tyson fight was staged. “People are like, ‘Oh, it’s rigged because look at him on the pads, but he didn’t do this in the fight,’” Jake Paul said on the podcast. That’s “because someone is fucking punching back, you dumb fucks. You don’t realize my power, and my speed, and my agility, and my footwork to get out of the way of those punches.”

Jake Paul added about fighting Tyson, “He was hard to hit. He was elusive. I was missing a lot of punches. I don’t know how he gets off to the side like that.”

The Netflix livestream was beset by technical issues, with problems including the video freezing and degraded quality. Even so, Netflix’s Tyson-Paul match drew an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally — which the streamer said made it the “most-streamed global sporting event ever.” The event peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million concurrent streams in the U.S.

SEE ALSO: Netflix Sued Over Technical Glitches in ‘Unwatchable’ Jake Paul-Mike Tyson Boxing Match