Jake Paul is turning his post-Chavez Jr. victory into a full-blown legal spectacle. After improving his record to 12-1 with a boring, clear points win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in Anaheim, Paul has zero patience left for anyone calling his rise a joke. Now he and his manager are lashing out with defamation threats—and it’s looking more desperate than dominant.
Paul – Chavez: Is Piers Morgan’s In Trouble?
TV host Piers Morgan unleashed two barbs on X:
‘I had a better fight with Jake Paul on Thursday than the unwatchable farce that took place tonight.’
‘The guy’s lining his pockets with buckets of $$$$ – but he’s killing boxing with this boring staged bulls*** against older fighters way past their prime.’
A few days earlier, Paul had sat down on Piers Morgan Uncensored—only to brand the anchor a ‘fat a**’ before dramatically ending the interview.
Jake Paul’s Legal Threats Following Chavez Jr. Victory
‘After years of letting it slide as just “haters being haters”, I have asked my team to vigorously go after anyone who makes up lies about my boxing career. Expect to get served you pigs,’ Paul snarled on social media.
Manager Nakisa Bidarian piled on with even harsher language:
‘This claim is baseless and irresponsible. Last night’s fight vs. Chavez Jr. was a fully sanctioned 10-round cruiserweight bout, officiated by the California State Athletic Commission with official judges. No staging / rigging — just hard work and a legit win. To say otherwise not only undermines the integrity of the sport, but is defamatory and causes reputational damage to MVP, Jake Paul, and the Commission. Enough is enough. We will be exploring all options, including legal action, to hold accountable those spreading such deliberate and harmful lies.’
Now even podcasters and bloggers are sweating. Is Paul’s team tracking down every tweet, post, and article that dares to question his legitimacy? They’ve warned of subpoenas, depositions, and damage claims that could bury small outlets in legal fees.
The Defamation Drill: What Paul Must Prove
Under California law, to prevail in a defamation suit a plaintiff must show that the statement in question:
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Conveyed an asserted fact (not pure opinion)
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Was false
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Was published to others
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Caused reputational harm
Because Jake Paul is a public figure, he also faces the “actual malice” standard—he must prove critics either knew their statements were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth That’s a heavy lift, requiring clear-and-convincing evidence that defendants entertained serious doubts about their commentary.
It’s hard to see this as anything other than a PR panic. Instead of letting punches do the talking, Paul is armoring up his lawyers. Will this legal blitz silence the critics or just amplify the spectacle? One thing’s certain: Jake Paul’s next fight may not be in the ring—but in a courtroom. “Haters”, consider yourselves warned.