Unprecedented in the history of boxing, Netflix streamed its first ever boxing fight as it steps into the scene of fighting. These type of fighting spectacles are usually viewed with pay-per-view platforms such as DAZN and ESPN+, but people who look to tune in to the fight will have to own a Netflix subscription. However, its debut in fight streaming was a success, featuring eight rounds of intense boxing amassing over 65 million viewers, as viewers watched the feared Mike Tyson‘s take on the rookie Jake Paul.
“My family has a Netflix account so when I heard the fight was going to be streamed there, I was happy to be able to watch it for free,” sophomore Daniel Villamizar said.
The event featured a unique set of rules tailored to both fighters. The exhibition consisted of eight, 2-minute rounds and had the fighters wear 14 ounce gloves, four more ounces than the standard for heavyweight fights. The change to shorter rounds was introduced to increase the tempo of the fight and benefit Mike Tyson’s lower stamina, due to his 58 year old body. While Mike Tyson boasts one of the most impressive career records at 50 wins to 6 losses, including 44 knockouts, his last ever competitive fight was nearly two decades ago, in July of 2005.
“The fight was way shorter than other fights I’ve seen, the rounds passed by fast and it wasn’t long enough for damage to be inflicted to either of them,” sophomore Yuval Levin said.
The Main Event, Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, streamed live on Netflix on Friday, Nov. 15 and amassed a peak of 65 million viewers, breaking the record for the most streamed fight-event ever. This investment for Netflix ended up returning them millions in profit. However, the two boxers have made even more from this highly-anticipated fight. Jake Paul has revealed that he made 40 million dollars for his victory over Mike “Iron” Tyson in his 12th ever boxing match, adding one more win to his record tallying 11-1 in his career.
Mike Tyson, though he lost, went home with a reported estimate of 20 million dollars. This fight not only broke the record for being the most streamed event, but it also shattered the Texas gate record for combat sports. The event produced over 18 million in revenue, more than doubling the next highest gate: Canelo Álvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders, which drew $9 million.
“The fight stream was extremely laggy, and the servers were horrible. It was probably due to all the people watching the fight too, and it was worse than watching it on DAZN,” sophomore Jaime Rojas said.
Although this fight proved to be most highly anticipated fight of the 21st century, the public took to social media to display their disappointment in the fight. The general consensus agreed that this was a fight that generated a lot of money and hype, but left fans disappointed, considering it to be one of the most boring in recent history.
“My dad and I watched the fight together and we were pretty disappointed in it because we had high expectations for it. There weren’t many good punches or combos and nothing exciting really happened except the walkout,” sophomore Ricardo Bonilla said.
Jake Paul threw a total of 278 punches, landing only 78, while Mike Tyson attempted a measly total of 97 punches, landing only 18. The statistics show that Mike Tyson threw only 20 more punches than Jake landed, displaying a lack of fighting and tiredness in this boxing match. Comparatively, average professional boxing matches can see about 500-1000 punches thrown collectively, spanning over the length of the fight. This decrease of punches left viewers and ticket-holders bored and disappointed for the uneventful fight.
