The former world heavyweight champion was defeated by the influencer via unanimous decision last month.
Mike Tyson is being sued by a Cyprus-based company for allegedly breaking a deal he made prior to his November 15th bout with Jake Paul.
According to ESPN, Medier – a company that promotes Rabona Sportsbook & Online Casino – is suing the legendary fighter in a London court for $1.59 million (1.5 million euros) after they alleged he failed to promote their business as had been previously agreed.
The lawsuit claims that Tyson terminated the deal in March, which was the same day Paul vs Tyson was announced, to avoid a schedule clash.
Tyson and his company Tyrannic are yet to file a defence to the lawsuit, but the 58-year-old boxer broke his silence with a statement released to the New York Post on Saturday.
“It is the company’s position that Medier, Ltd. materially breached the terms of its license agreement on multiple occasions and in various ways,” read the statement.
“As such, Tyrannic, LLC was well within its legal and contractual rights to terminate the license agreement for material breach in an effort to mitigate additional reputational harm to the Tyson brand.”
A lawyer representing Medier has claimed that the company suffered losses of around 1.46 million euros as a result of Tyson’s failure to fulfil his part of the deal.
“The true reason for Mr. Tyson and Tyrannic’s hasty and unlawful termination was because Mr. Tyson had agreed a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight the influencer Jake Paul,” the company’s lawyer said in documents made public on Friday.
Last month’s heavyweight blockbuster was broadcast live on Netflix as many fans were left disappointed with both contenders performances and the decision to award Paul the victory.
Paul reportedly earned $40 million from the event, with Tyson taking home a purse of around $20 million despite losing.
In the days after the fight, a man named Ronald ‘Blue’ Denton filed a class-action lawsuit against Netflix for the poor streaming quality of the fight, seeking damages of at least $50 million.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Hillsborough County, Florida, reads: “Sixty million Americans were hyped to see ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ versus YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul. What they saw was ‘The Baddest Streaming on the Planet.'”
