Mike Tyson faces £1.5m lawsuit over abandoned Rabona sponsorship deal
Mike Tyson and his company Tyrannic LLC, controlled by his wife Lakiha Spicer, are being sued for £1.5 million by Rabona promoter Medier Ltd over a 2024 sponsorship deal. Medier says Tyson unlawfully withdrew from the campaign after agreeing to fight Jake Paul, and argues the more lucrative bout made the Rabona work inconvenient.
Tyson and Tyrannic deny breaching the contract, saying the campaign demanded more than the agreement required, including a livestream with presenters and a performer dressed as a talking pigeon. The deal called for Tyson to attend a gambling conference in Amsterdam from 16 to 19 July 2024; he had been paid nearly £145,000 of the £1.5 million fee before the parties parted company. The High Court also heard that Tyson’s Netflix exhibition fight with Paul was moved from July to November 2024.
- Medier is suing Tyson and his company for £1.5 million over a sponsorship deal.
- The dispute centres on a Rabona livestream featuring a talking pigeon.
- Tyson denies breaching the contract and says the campaign exceeded its terms.
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Mike Tyson is a former world heavyweight boxing champion whose public appearances and endorsements are often arranged through his company, Tyrannic LLC, controlled by his wife, Lakiha Spicer. Rabona is a gambling brand promoted by Medier Ltd.
Sponsorship deals set out what a public figure will do in return for payment, such as attending events or appearing in promotional material. Disputes can arise over what the contract requires, and whether either side has broken it.
The case matters because the court must consider how the agreement’s terms apply to the planned campaign and the parties’ reasons for ending their arrangement. It also involves a sponsorship linked to a gambling conference and Tyson’s boxing commitments.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Medier’s case is that Tyson and his company had agreed to a paid campaign tied to a specific Amsterdam conference, then withdrew after Tyson accepted a more lucrative fight that made the sponsorship inconvenient. If the requested appearances were within the contract, Medier could argue it is fair to hold the parties to their bargain and recover losses from the withdrawal.
The case against
Tyson and Tyrannic’s case is that they did not breach the agreement because Medier sought campaign elements beyond what they had promised, including a livestream with presenters and a performer dressed as a talking pigeon. If those demands exceeded the contract, they could argue that ending the arrangement was justified; the reported move of the Paul fight from July to November may also be relevant to whether that bout prompted the withdrawal.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Mike Tyson and his wife are sued for £1.5m after he pulled out of gambling ad campaign because he didn’t want to appear on screen with a giant talking pigeon”.