Retired boxer Heather Hardy sues Jake Paul's MVP for $10 million over brain injury

Retired boxer Heather Hardy filed a lawsuit on 23 September in Texas seeking more than $10 million from Jake Paul and his promotional outfit Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), alleging the company knowingly placed her in a dangerous fight that contributed to a traumatic brain injury that has since affected her health, vision, and ability to work.

The lawsuit alleges negligence and violations of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Hardy claims MVP placed her “into a dangerous and unnecessary rematch against MVP-represented Amanda Serrano,” and that “defendants knew, or should have known, that the bout presented an extraordinary and foreseeable risk of serious neurological harm to Hardy. They moved forward anyway.”

Hardy lost the fight by unanimous decision on 5 August 2023 and retired immediately afterwards. In the months that followed, she launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover basic living expenses. “After years of taking punches for the sport I loved, I suffered a traumatic brain injury,” Hardy wrote in the campaign. “The damage has affected my health, my vision, and my ability to work consistently enough to cover basic living expenses and necessities.”

MVP issued a statement in response to the lawsuit, expressing sympathy while defending its conduct. “MVP has great respect for Heather Hardy,” the organisation said. “We recognize the difficulty of her circumstances and extend our sincere sympathy and hope that she receives the care and support she deserves.”

The promotion maintained that Hardy’s appearance on the card was arranged through her own promoter, Lou DiBella, and that she had publicly expressed gratitude for the opportunity both before and after the fight. “MVP followed applicable protocols for the fight, Heather was medically cleared to compete by the athletic commission overseeing the event, and the bout proceeded under the commission’s authority and supervision in accordance with their standard medical and safety requirements,” the statement continued. “MVP remains committed to fighter safety and supporting the athletes who compete in our events in full compliance with commission standards.”