Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images for Netflix
Jake Paul Plans Legal Action Against Critics Claiming Anthony Joshua Fight Was Rigged
Jake Paul isn’t letting the chatter slide. After his shocking sixth-round knockout at the hands of former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Miami last weekend, the YouTuber-turned-boxer is going on the offensive — legally.
The fight, part of a Netflix blockbuster reportedly worth a staggering £200 million, ended in dramatic fashion. Joshua landed a monster right hand that left Paul with two fractured jaws, spitting blood and in need of emergency surgery. But some fans weren’t just shocked — they were suspicious. Rumors started swirling online that the eight-round bout was scripted, with AJ “going off script” by finishing Paul early.
For the first four rounds, Joshua barely landed a punch on the novice fighter, frustrating spectators. In round one, when many expected a swift knockout, he only managed two shots. The crowd booed, and even the referee reportedly told the fighters the audience didn’t want to see the “c**p” they were producing — especially as Paul repeatedly stumbled in the ring.
The fight took a turn in the fifth round. Joshua ramped up the aggression, flooring Paul twice before ending the match in explosive fashion in round six.
Now, Paul’s manager and CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, Nakisa Bidarian, has announced legal action against several unnamed individuals spreading the “fight was fixed” claims. Speaking to the Ariel Helwani Show, Bidarian said:
“Our lawyers are actively going after a number of people, one who claims to be a lawyer himself online… it was a post that had around 200,000 likes. Basically, the post claimed there was an agreement for AJ not to knock out Jake but AJ disregarded it and decided to forego his payday to knock out Jake Paul. It’s pretty astonishing what people will say.”
Pressed on whether there were any pre-fight agreements between the fighters, promoters, and Netflix, Bidarian added:
“There has never once in Jake Paul’s career been any talk of that sort, of anything to do with the fight being anything but a real fight that has the same situation as any professional fight. That’s exactly the same thing here with the Anthony Joshua fight. It is just beyond mind-blowing that people would think that. Anthony Joshua was on record saying that if he didn’t finish him in the first round, that would be disappointing, that it would be a failure. The narrative changed as we got closer to fight night and post-fight and I understand why, but they were pretty adamant it would take max two rounds to knock out Jake Paul.”
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