Jake Paul's boxing promoter denies the Mike Tyson fight was rigged: "It is naïve and an insult"

Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the boxing promotion Jake Paul founded in 2021 (that, among others, has co-promoted the very successful fights between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano) has issued an statement after the never ending criticism about the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

The bout, a victory for Paul by unanimous decision, has been scrutinised by fans, who think it was rigged in favour of the youtuber. MVP issued a statement saying those are "incorrect and baseless claims that undermine the integrity of the Paul vs. Tyson event".

"Rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime in the United States. 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.".

"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.

Nakisa Bidarian, MVP co-founder, added that "this is not the first time Jake Paul has face unfounded scepticism or outright disbelief as a professional athlete" and thinks this backlash is actually "backhand compliment to come his way".

Suspicion about a rigged fight is not the only controversy surrounding the fight. Netflix faces a class action lawsuit by subscribers who couldn't watch the event due to streaming issues, seeking damages and claiming Netflix knew it was not prepared for live events but went ahead anyway.