Jake Paul’s motion to dismiss lawsuit from Matchroom Boxing denied, pre-trial conference set for Oct. 16

The stage is set for a legal brawl between Jake Paul and Matchroom Boxing after a judge in New York denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the social influencer turned boxer after he allegedly made defamatory statements about the promoter following a fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in 2022.

On Sept. 30, Judge Paul Gardephe from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a ruling against Paul’s motion to dismiss the case that was first filed over two years ago.

The motion to dismiss was based upon a couple of factors including Paul’s argument that the venue in New York is improper because he currently resides in Puerto Rico and “this court lacks personal jurisdiction over him.” He also claimed that Matchroom Boxing was “doing business” in New York without authorization under New York Business Corporation law.

The judge ultimately struck down all of the claims filed by Paul’s attorneys and issued a ruling denying his motion to dismiss the case.

Following that ruling, the judge also set a pre-trial conference date for Oct. 16 as the lawsuit moves forward. No later than seven days prior to the conference, both parties are required to submit a joint letter with a brief description of the case including “factual and legal bases for the claim and defense” as well as any motions and the prospect for settlement.

The attorneys for Matchroom Boxing and Paul are both required to attend the conference, although Matchroom founder Eddie Hearn and Paul himself are not expected to show up to the pre-trial hearing.

The initial lawsuit was filed after Paul allegedly made defamatory statements that Matchroom Boxing “bribed” Glenn Feldman — a boxing judge — “to influence the outcome of two boxing matches that he refereed.”

The boxing matches in question were the Taylor vs. Serrano fight and a matchup between Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

In an interview, Paul stated that “clearly [Glenn Feldman] is getting paid money by Matchroom Boxing” after he scored the fights for Taylor and Joshua, who are both represented by Hearn’s promotion. Paul claimed that it’s “an accusation that [he doesn’t] take lightly” but added “it’s just so blatantly obvious and they’re not even trying to hide it.”

As a result, Matchroom Boxing filed a defamation lawsuit against Paul and Feldman actually joined the lawsuit as a co-plaintiff in October 2022.

The next hearing is set for Oct. 16 before an actual trial date in the case is determined.