Asher Gibbons & Erin Grant
Sports Editor & Staff Writer
On Nov. 15, a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul shattered national streaming records, becoming the most streamed sporting event ever, according to CNBC.
Old and new boxing fans across the world tuned in to see the Influencer and former Disney Channel actor Paul go against legendary boxer Mike Tyson. Several seasoned viewers expected that “Father Time” would dominate the ring, while casual sports fans were expecting “the baddest man on the planet” to blow Paul out of the water.
Aside from their career backgrounds and experience in the ring, the two fighters had one glaring difference: their age. Tyson and Paul are 31 years apart. At 58, Tyson has been out of the game for nearly 20 years.
He lost his last professional fight in 2005 against Kevin McBride. At the time, Tyson admitted in his post-fight interview, “I got the ability to stay in shape, but I don’t got the fighting guts I don’t think anymore… I’m just sorry I let everyone down.”
Nearly two decades later, many wondered whether “Iron Mike” could muster one last hurrah. To account for Tyson’s age, some rules were adjusted. The fight would only have eight two-minute rounds and according to Netflix the fighters were equipped with 14-ounce gloves rather than the standard 10-ounce.
Despite these adjustments, Tyson lost by unanimous decision after the fight went the distance.
“Iron Mike” showed flashes of his former glory in rounds one and two, but unfortunately it was evident his stamina and drive had taken a hit in his old age. Tyson spent the last 6 rounds attempting to survive the fight with a highly defensive strategy. ESPN reported that Tyson only threw 97 punches, just under 35% of Paul’s 278 total thrown.
The reason that Tyson listed for his loss was the health troubles he had previous to the fight.
“I almost died in June. Had eight blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25 pounds in the hospital,” Tyson tweeted in the aftermath.
Additionally, it was clear that he had a compression sleeve on his knee, pointing to a potential injury or old age already added to the unfortunate troubles Tyson had in June.
The event wasn’t without problems, as Netflix was clearly overloaded with the amount of people attempting to stream the fight at the same time. Social media was flooded with complaints and memes about Netflix’s loading screen.
This comes on the heels of Netflix announcing they will be streaming two NFL games on Christmas Day. Several viewers expressed their discontent online, but the streaming hiccups ironically contributed to the event’s success, heightening awareness of the fight.
According to CBS Sports, both fighters made out extremely well with rumors floating that Paul earned around $40 million, while his counterpart, Tyson, made $20 million. Additionally, the fight broke the Texas live event gate record at over $17.8 million. This brings forth the question of whether or not influencers like Jake Paul are the future of boxing.
The rise of influencer boxing has reshaped the sport. Since KSI and Paul’s brother, Logan Paul’s widely publicized fight in 2018, much of the traction in the sport comes from the buzz of influencer fighting. Since then, social media creators like “Salt Papi” and J. Paul have capitalized on the boxing audience to boost their fame. J. Paul, for example, uses his clout in the boxing world to promote Most Valuable Promotions, the event company he co-founded.
One reason for the monumental success of influencer boxing is its simplicity. Unlike traditional boxing, influencer fights are often easier to follow, with significantly less confusion and fragmented leagues and championship titles. They are often easier for new fans to get into- they have clearer story lines and more recognizable names.
This approach has revitalized the sport, though critics argue that Paul’s approach—targeting older icons like Tyson—diminishes the sport’s integrity.
It’s expected that the fight was Tyson’s last, however, he left the door open for himself for more in the future. Tyson explained in the post-fight that he had more drive to fight again and named L. Paul as a potential candidate for his next fight.
Nevertheless, USA Today claims that Paul is already “in talks” for his next fight- so it appears that era influencer fighting is only just beginning.
