Barry Hearn On Suing Jake Paul for $100MILLION

Where is influencer boxing at now?

It's, it's like most sports. The top, top end of any sport including influence books remains strong. So Jake Paul fighting Mike Tyson on Netflix did 50 million views. Unbelievable. Did anyone expect the fight to be any good? No. But there were two big names endorsed by 30 or 40 million social media media followers. The middle end is struggling because it's not quite enough money to attract the really big names and the bottom end is doing okay because it doesn't set out to be anything other than is a volume operation. There are people out there trying to grow it and there's a lot of people, yourself included, that quite fancy having a little fight from time to time. It's quite exciting to on one and done Barry. One and done one and done is better than me. It's unbelievably exciting. One against one. Yeah. And it's something that perhaps it's like climbing a mountain. Perhaps we should all try it once. Yeah. But beyond that it gets dangerous. But influencer boxing misfits. Boxing is doing reasonably well. I won't say it's ever going to take away the top end of boxing. It's not. But people like to see famous people or well known people involved in the four cornered ring.

Okay, so let's go with Jake Paul then. Because you said everyone expected what they got from Mike Tyson but actually it wasn't really a fight.

No.

And like aren't people in the end going to go. This isn't entertaining anymore.

Maybe because.

Because his last few fights have not been entertaining.

But I think the tickets are sold and the dramas created on the announcements and the press conferences rather than the fight. So you've got to look at it, you've got.

That's like a cheap holiday, isn't it? You get excited about going but then it's when you go action.

You know what, that's a very good analogy. But I think you might be too, even you might be too close to boxing. It's not a religion, it's a sport. It's not an occupation for most people but it's a thrill for everyone. Right. You know, so I don't put the same code of conduct on it. I think it's a great sport. I think it's a hard way to make your money. Yeah. But I can understand people wanting to just, you know, smell the grease, paint, taste the noise of the crowd or whatever, you know.

Yeah.

That it is something special and it won't produce quality because they're not qualified to do that side of the business. They're very good at the hype.

Yeah.

Not so good at the. At the delivery. Right.

It seems at the moment, though, like you said with maybe Anthony Joshua Davis, it seems like the influence of boxing is merging in with professional boxing in some way.

I mean, again, you've got to look at the MMA scene as well, because you're getting the similar sort of thing in there. There are ridiculously only 5%, approximately, of what I call pure sports fans. Who's a pure boxing fan? 95% of Casuals. Right. Those casuals are followers of the sport via social media or through just an interest in the sport. But they do come and go.

Yeah.

And if someone's hot within that marketplace, they will attract attention. And because of the sheer number of followers, it makes big numbers. Yeah. You know, the Tyson fight was a poor fight, a poor evening's entertainment, other than, of course, on the undercard was Katie Taylor and Amando Serrano, which was one of the fights for the year.

Yeah.

So in a way, the two could almost work in harmony. Katie got a massive purse. Serrano got paid a huge amount of money as well. They delivered a fabulous fight that had the whole crowd on their feet. And then we finished off with something which probably doesn't appeal to the purist, but it was an opportunity to see something which on paper looked like a very interesting fight.

Did you sue Jake Paul?

Yes.

Oh, did you win?

Yes. Oh.

Why did you sue him?

Because he said some very naughty things about us which weren't true. He accused us of bribing judges and officials to get the result. Oh, wow. And it was as direct as that. And so the referee sued him. He sued him. He lost. We sued him for a hundred million dollars. Oh, wow. In New York. Yeah.

And did you get that amount of money?

Nowhere near. It's always around in New York. Everything's around. Some right parking defense, $100 million. You know, you can see it happening. But that's America. So you play the game, right. Listen, Jake Paul settled with us. It was a seven figure sum. We was happy. I don't know where we gave it some and we probably put it in our foundation. So it is not a bit. We don't consider that a business income. That's a stupidity income. And yeah, people have to learn there are rules in life that you can't break. And one thing you're never going to be allowed to do is put any doubt as to the credibility of Matron, because we take that very seriously.

And has he kept his mouth shut.

Since oh, yes, it's an expensive mistake. And one hopes that the young man has learned from that. Yeah, and we have. Because it's funny, in life you don't have to be friends to do business. You know, I think Mickey Duff, the old promoter, once said about Lloyd Hunnigan, I don't like him, but I don't have to like him to manage him because it's business. And, and certainly we've. We would do a show with Jake Paul tomorrow.

Yeah.

No, we don't have nothing lost. Mistake was made, he's paid, we move on.

And is that a mindset you've learned over the years of being in business?

Well, because after, when you first get up and he goes, it's very personal to you, you know, if someone lets you down or someone you trusted turns out to be a snake, it's not just the money. You, you know, I'm not saying you want to be violent towards him, although I could understand in certain circumstances, but you're just disappointed with another human being and that actually it takes a lot of the enjoyment out of what is a fun business, you know. So what did someone say? If you want loyalty, buy a dog. And it's a little bit like that. And it shouldn't, and it shouldn't be, but it is. And again, as you get older, you sit in the other person's chair a little bit more, say, I'm a fighter, I've got a very short career, I've got to go for the most money straight away. Irrespective of contracts I've signed or agreements I've made, the temptation is still there to jump ship. And that's where most of the problem's money orientated. I think that these days, not quite so true because the money is so huge on the really big shows, the fighters now, Whereas in the 60s and 70s, lots of great fires ended up penniless, these days, fighters have got better advisors and they're getting more money. And they'll end up, I hope, as business people where, no, they've lost a few brain cells because boxing is dangerous. But at the same time, they've changed their life through the money that they've earned in the ring. And this is true of lots of different sports. There's a lot of very wealthy people becoming darts players where they're earning millions of pounds a year. Right. And I take a huge amount of credit for it and a huge amount of happiness that ordinary people are changing their life because there but for God go I, you know, as a young man, I Came out of the same background. Know I wanted to do something in my life. I wanted to, I wanted to win. And winning is the same as in business as it is in sport. You prepare diligently, you sacrifice, you give 110, then you take what God gives you.

Let me ask you, do you think Jake Paul is a good boxer?

Yeah, he's decent enough. I think he'd be the southern area. No, but seriously, I mean that's a nutrition Suffolk. Yeah, but I mean he might, he might be British title level. Not far off it because he's taking it, he is taking it seriously. I look at how he trains his routines and all that. He gives it a hundred percent. Yeah, he's not, he's not, he's not quality. But you see, today's market is not necessarily about quality. We can't kid ourselves. And it's people like use fault, by the way. Oh, thanks.

It's my fault.

It's your fault because it's more important to be famous than good.

Oh, and I'm, I'm famous for.

You make people famous. You make people famous on shows like yours because a lot of people listen to it and that makes them famous. It's part and parcel of what they do. But doesn't have to be that they're good.

Do you think your son Eddie would beat Jake Paul in a fight?

I think he'd have a decent chance but only for the first couple of rounds.

Right.

I mean when you get fit for fighting that you're fit. I mean it's a level of fitness that most people, even other professional sportsmen can never reach. Yeah. Now it is constant and, and you have to live it and Eddie doesn't. I mean Eddie has a physical specimen, he's good, you know, I mean he works out a couple of times a day. He's for a big man, he's, he's in a lot of shape. Although interestingly he's 46 and I said to him the other day, you know, you're gonna be 50 soon. This is sort of. It doesn't sound the same, is it? But he's. No, he puts the work in. But professional sportsmen all put their working at their level in a fight. Eddie's heavy handed and would have a little chance in the first two rounds or three rounds and then he'd get destroyed by anyone who was super fit. Sam.