Judge refuses to dismiss defamation suit vs. Paul

Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s defamation lawsuit against Jake Paul is proceeding after a U.S. District Court judge in New York denied a motion to dismiss the case Monday, according to court documents obtained by ESPN.

An Oct. 16 hearing was set to move forward with the lawsuit.

England’s Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Sport, filed the lawsuit in September 2022 after an interview earlier that month where Paul accused Hearn of bribing veteran boxing judge Glenn Feldman in connection to two fights.

Paul acknowledged it was “an accusation that [he doesn’t] take lightly.”

“You’d think they would try to get a different judge to try and hide the corruption they are bringing to this sport, but it’s just so blatantly obvious,” said Paul, the social media star who became a boxer.

Paul was referring to two fights earlier that year where Feldman scored a fight in favor of a boxer promoted by Hearn.

There was Katie Taylor’s April 2022 win over Amanda Serrano, who is promoted by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions. Taylor won the undisputed lightweight championship fight in New York via split decision; Feldman scored the bout 97-93 for Taylor.

Then there was the August 2022 unified heavyweight champion rematch between Anthony Joshua, who is promoted by Matchroom, and Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia. Usyk won via split decision; Feldman scored the bout in favor of Joshua, 115-113.

Hearn denied the claims, as did Feldman, who called them “outlandishly false and baseless.”

Cleveland’s Paul (10-1), 27, is a cruiserweight who is set to meet Mike Tyson in a boxing match on Nov. 15 presented by Netflix. Hearn, 45, is the top boxing promoter in the U.K., and also promotes major cards in the U.S. and around the world.