Jake Paul will not be intimidated and more importantly, will not be silenced.
“El Gallo” was recently sued for defamation following his claims that Matchroom Boxing, helmed by longtime promoter Eddie Hearn, bribed judge Glenn Feldman to return favorable scorecards in the Amanda Serrano vs. Katie Taylor and Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk title fights.
Paul claims the lawsuit represents an “intimidation tactic to chill [his] freedom of speech and to silence other critics of the boxing industry,” according to MMA Fighting.
The social media boxer, who fights Mike Tyson next month on Netflix, is now countersuing for “reimbursement of his attorneys’ fees, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.”
Feldman joined Hearn’s lawsuit as co-plaintiff.
“Anti-SLAPP laws were primarily enacted to protect against plaintiffs who filed claims seeking to suppress freedom of speech, [but] these statutes were not enacted to protect maliciously false or defamatory statements — which Paul’s remarks clearly constitute,” Eddie Hearn’s attorney, Frank Salzano, wrote in a statement to TMZ Sports.
Both sides are expected to appear for a pre-trial hearing today (Oct. 16) in New York.