Mike Tyson sued in UK for ditching promotion deal to fight Jake Paul

LONDON: Mike Tyson is being sued in a London court for nearly 1.5 million euros ($1.59 million) for allegedly breaking a deal to promote a gambling company in order to fight social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul.

Mediaa Cyprus-registered company that promotes online casino and betting company Rabona, is suing the former heavyweight champion and his company Tyrannic for allegedly reneging on the deal, which was agreed in January.

The lawsuit, filed at London’s High Court in October, says Mike Tyson terminated the deal in March – the same day his fight with Paul was announced – because Medier breached their agreement.

Medier’s lawyers, however, argue its actions did not constitute a breach of the deal and that Tyson’s breach of contract has caused Medier losses of around 1.46 million euros.

“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.

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Tyson and Tyrannic have yet to file a defence to the lawsuit and Tyson was not immediately available to comment.

Paul, 27, beat the 58-year-old Tyson by unanimous decision in Texas last month, in a fight streamed live on Netflix that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

After losing the fight, the boxing legend said he had no regrets about his defeat to social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul, adding that he had nearly died in June because of health issues.

Fans largely disappointed as the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion showed his age and was never able to generate any offence against his younger opponent.