With Amanda Serrano set to fight Erika Cruz this Saturday on DAZN, we have a Most Valuable Promotions fighter in Serrano facing a Matchroom fighter in Cruz, on what is technically a co-promoted card, but is mainly a Matchroom deal.
Some have wondered what that meant for the lawsuit Eddie Hearn filed against Jake Paul last September, and Hearn spoke with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour today about that situation, saying it’s still ongoing, but that he believes Jake and MVP deserve respect for not letting it get in the way of doing what’s best for their fighters, in this case Serrano.
Hearn also spoke about his feelings on Jake and Logan Paul in general, and how he sees Jake’s fight with Tommy Fury going.
On the lawsuit with Jake Paul still being an active concern
“Everyone’s professional. At the end of the day, and I have to respect them for this, we’re not letting our relationship or what’s happened there get in the way of what’s best for the fighters, and we’d be idiots if we did. And we certainly wouldn’t be doing the right job for our clients.
“You can’t stop a fight from happening just because me and Jake Paul have fallen out. At the end of the day, Jake said some things that he shouldn’t have, he refused to apologize, and this is the way I chose to deal with it. The other option is just to go and knock him out, which is not the way we conduct business, and we have a reputation in the sport that spans 40 years. I’m not prepared to have some YouTuber or whatever it is come in and start questioning that integrity and make the most bizarre comments. People will say let it lie, but I’m not prepared to let it lie. It’s something I take seriously.
“That’s that situation, but the situation of representing our clients, that’s a good thing, and I have to respect them for that. We’re not getting on and he’s not overly involved (in the promotion), but he’s given Amanda Serrano a great opportunity on Saturday via us, and potentially against Katie Taylor, as well.”
On Jake Paul personally
“Jake will do his thing. I don’t mind the guy. I think he’s doing good things for boxing. I like what he’s doing and the way he’s gone about most of his business, but for me, this was not something I was prepared to let lie. Whether you think I’m right or wrong, it’s something that’s important to me.”
“I respect Jake on many levels. Firstly, I think he’s improved as a fighter. I don’t share his views that he’s going to go on and become a world-class fighter, but he’s involved in a sport that’s very tough. He’s put himself in the line of fire, in battle, doing the hard camps, doing the sparring. As a businessman or a content creator, he is outstanding. And I don’t see him as a ‘YouTuber’ in boxing anymore, I just see him as a fighter. It doesn’t mean he’s going to go and win a world title, but there are a lot of fighters out there.”
On the Paul brothers in general
“I feel like Logan Paul is actually a bit of an exceptional young man. I did the KSI vs Logan Paul fight. What Logan Paul has done in WWE, I don’t feel like he gets the credit. Unbelievable. I saw his first effort and I’m watching this thinking, like, one, he looks like he’s done this all his life. He’s an unbelievable athlete. You think about what he created in the world of YouTube, take that forward to the KSI fight, he fought Floyd Mayweather, now he’s involved in WWE. It’s an unbelievable transition.
“You have to respect these guys for what they’ve achieved. They’re very smart people, Jake included. I don’t have anything negative to say about him, and I feel like the fight with Tommy Fury — I think it will do good numbers and it’s quite an intriguing fight.”
On Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury
“Tommy Fury’s unbelievably limited, but he is a fighter, he is a boxer. All the criticism about Jake is ‘you’ve never fought a boxer’ — he’s about to. Not a very good one, but still a boxer. For Tommy Fury, it’s just a bit embarrassing if he was to lose. It’s embarrassing full-stop to lose to Jake, that’s the reality — for a boxer. I mean, I’d be embarrassed to lose to Jake Paul, and I would.
“He’s still not very good. But this is where we always have arguments. He genuinely thinks he could fight Canelo Alvarez and win. At the end of the day, you’ve got to back yourself. His confidence is actually what’s helping him in achieving. I don’t mean to be disrespectful when I say ‘deluded,’ but he is deluded to a point. When he steps into the ring, he thinks he does have that ability, and that’s important. Mindset is everything in the fight game. I know you’ve got to have ability, but mentally, he’s pretty robust.
“He genuinely thinks he’s a world-class fighter, and that’s part of the battle sometimes in fight sports. And mentally, he’ll break Tommy Fury.”
On Jake’s trash talk towards the Fury family
“The way that Jake talks about, personally, about stuff like the Tommy Fury fight, you’ve got to be careful. Not necessarily with Tommy Fury, but there’s a fine line in that world between something going badly wrong. But I think he’ll mess with Tommy mentally, and I just think by the time they get in the ring — if they do get in the ring — I think Tommy will be defeated, and I think Jake Paul will win by knockout.”