PIERS MORGAN has clarified his comments that Jake Paul’s boxing career has been “staged” following news the YouTuber is taking legal action to fight claims his bouts are fixed.
Paul, 28, has reportedly taken legal steps to defend his reputation after persistent claims that his fights are rigged.
Jake Paul has reportedly retained a top lawyer to defend him against claims his boxing fights are rigged[/caption]
Paul has retained top attorney Alex Spiro to address and counteract what he and his team say are false and damaging comments.
Spiro, who has represented the likes of Elon Musk, Jay-Z and Alec Baldwin, said in a statement: “I’ve been retained by Mr. Paul to pursue legal redress for the damages he has suffered.
“If someone uses their public soapbox to harm him and the sport with lies, there will be consequences.”
Paul has come under criticism for his boxing career to date and received a slew of claims of “rigged” and “fixed” fights following his unanimous decision win over former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June.
Among those critics was Piers Morgan, who himself used the phrase “boring staged bull***t” to describe Paul’s boxing career.
Now Morgan has taken to X to release a statement clarifying those comments.
He wrote: “I posted a few weeks ago that Jake Paul’s boxing career has been “boring staged bulls***.”
“What I meant is that his fights have been predominantly against older, past-their-prime opponents, which may be lucrative for both sides, and may have entertainment value.
Paul came under fire following his unanimous decision victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June[/caption]
“But don’t reveal how he stacks up against currently ranked boxers and therefore are not a good look for the sport.
“I did not intend to suggest that the outcome was predetermined and certainly didn’t mean to suggest anything illegal.
“But if reports are correct that Jake is now in negotiations to fight Anthony Joshua, that would obviously be a seriously credible bout against one of the best heavyweights in the world.
“Jake is welcome to come on Uncensored to discuss this, and verbally slug it out with me, anytime.”
Paul’s manager and co-founder of MVP promotions, Nakisa Bidarian, previously warned that comments labelling Paul’s fight as rigged are defamatory and would be met with legal backlash.
Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, he said: “When you definitively state that Jake is putting on staged or rigged fights, that’s just defamation, and you’re causing substantial damage to his business, to MVP’s business, and something that’s 100 per cent not true.”
Adding: “We’re having to have conversations with our partners that are just unjustifiable. Our legal representation is looking at multiple individuals to go after.”
MVP co-founder and Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian has warned that comments labelling Paul’s fight as rigged are defamatory[/caption].
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