Jake Paul’s hyped-up showdown with boxing legend Mike Tyson smashed records on Netflix, with 60 million households tuning in live around the globe, revealed the streaming service on Saturday.
The fight peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, making it one of the platform’s most-watched live sports events ever. That was despite Netflix pausing at one point for us but being back live shortly afterwards. For others, they weren’t so lucky, as Netflix went down for the count.
The co-main event between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor also drew massive attention, with nearly 50 million households watching live (that was one disgusting cut above the eye). Early data suggests the fight could become the most-watched women’s professional sporting event in U.S. history, marking a huge milestone for women’s boxing.
The event also set records at the venue, as over 72,300 fans filled AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, making it the largest boxing gate ever outside Las Vegas.
Ticket sales exceeded $18 million, doubling the previous Texas combat sports record set by Canelo Álvarez. The hashtag #PaulTyson trended globally and Serrano’s fight dominated discussions in countries like the U.S., Brazil, Spain, and Canada.
Joe Hand Promotions, which distributed the fight to over 6,000 bars and restaurants in the U.S., confirmed it was their most successful combat sports event in over 50 years.
Netflix is expected to release additional viewership details later this week, but the overnight data makes Paul vs. Tyson a historic night for boxing and streaming alike.
The Tyson-Paul main event did not live up to the hype. It was clear this was the biggest marketing stunt in history, as Tyson looked exhausted after two rounds, but at least Paul didn’t try to knock out or hurt the legend. Money talks, with Paul said to have nabbed $40 million and $20 million for Tyson. Not bad for 16 minutes of “boxing”.
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