LONDON -- Mike Tyson is being sued in a London court for nearly $1.59 million (1.5 million euros) for allegedly breaking a deal to promote a gambling company in order to fight social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul.
Medier, a Cyprus-registered company that promotes online casino and betting company Rabona, is suing the former heavyweight champion and his company Tyrannic for allegedly reneging on the deal, which was agreed in January.
The lawsuit, filed at London's High Court in October, says Tyson terminated the deal in March -- the same day his fight with Paul was announced -- claiming Medier had breached their agreement.
Medier's lawyers, however, argue that its actions did not constitute a breach of the deal and that Tyson's breach of contract has caused Medier losses of around 1.46 million euros.
"The true reason for Mr. Tyson and Tyrannic's hasty and unlawful termination was because Mr. Tyson had agreed a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight the influencer Jake Paul," the company's lawyer said in documents made public on Friday.
Tyson, 58, and Tyrannic have yet to file a defense to the lawsuit.
"Medier materially breached the terms of its agreement with Tyrannic multiple times by exceeding the scope of the restricted license that was granted, causing, among other things, financial and reputational damage to the company and Mr. Tyson," Tyson's legal representation said via statement on Monday. "Tyrannic properly terminated the agreement and is confident that the Court will view this dispute in its favor.
Paul, 27, beat Tyson by unanimous decision in Texas last month in a fight streamed live on Netflix that failed to live up to its enormous hype.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.