Jake Paul is battling the internet, with his team vowing to pursue legal action against anyone spreading claims that his Netflix boxing match with Anthony Joshua was rigged.
The bout ended via sixth-round knockout on Dec. 19, with Paul suffering two jaw fractures requiring surgery.
The Fight After The Fight
Seems the social media star-turned-boxer won’t tolerate online accusations that the bout against his opponent was fixed, as his promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions, prepares to take defamers to court, according to reports from The Sun and others.
Paul’s manager has strongly denied any rigging, pointing the fight’s legitimacy and confirming lawyers are actively targeting spreaders of false claims.
“Our lawyers are actively going after a number of people — one who even claims to be a lawyer online. There was a post with around 200k likes claiming there was an agreement for AJ not to knock out Jake, but AJ disregarded the agreement and decided to mitigate his payday but knock out Jake Paul. So it’s pretty astonishing what people say,” Nakisa Bidarian, Paul’s manager and MVP co-founder, on The Ariel Helwani Show.
Allegations of scripted fights have long shadowed Paul’s unconventional boxing career, but they’ve intensified since his sixth-round knockout loss to Joshua on December 20.
Even before the Paul vs. Joshua matchup, in August 2025, Paul publicly warned critics that lawsuits were on the horizon if they accused his fights of being staged, as reported by Complex.
The early rounds drew criticism for being slow and low-action — Paul often moving laterally, clinching, and appearing cautious against the former heavyweight champ Joshua — fueling skepticism.
But from the fifth round onward, Joshua ramped up the pressure, scoring multiple knockdowns before delivering the decisive knockout in the sixth that went viral as a meme.
Despite his severe injury, reports estimate Paul earned roughly $93 million from the bout’s massive purse (part of a reported $184 million to $200 million total split).
