Jake ‘The Problem Child’ Paul is preparing for the biggest fight of his life; yet as the battle with 58-year-old Mike Tyson etches closer and closer, the divisive YouTuber-turned-boxer admits that it’s promotion a tricky road to navigate.
After being re-scheduled over health concerns, Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson is now set to go down on November 15 from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – ironically, the universally-slated fight still has the potential to be the single most-watched combat sports event in history.
Jake Paul discusses the pros and cons of boxing Mike Tyson
Back when Jake Paul was fighting YouTubers, former UFC stars, and reality TV personalities, ‘The Problem Child’ was used to receiving a significant amount of hate from the global boxing community.
That backlash has understandably grown tenfold now that he’s fighting Mike Tyson, who celebrated his 58th birthday in June; just one month after an ulcer flare-up forced their fight to be postponed.
Despite all the negative press, does Jake Paul still think that taking such a controversial fight has been worthwhile? Of course he does.
“100%,” he told stuntman and comedian Steve-O on the latest episode of his podcast, explaining how such a lose-lose situation doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll exit the AT&T Stadium under a dark cloud.
In fact, there is a very real possibility that Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson could be the most viewed event in boxing history and that’s to one key factor: the ‘Tudum’ of its broadcast partner, Netflix.
“[It’s about] being a part of history, it probably will be the most viewed fight ever since of Netflix and it’s free – they have the largest subscriber base out of any platform ever.”
The current record holder for the most watched boxing event is Mayweather vs Pacquiao from 2015, which drew around 4.6 million buys… As of Q2 2024, Netflix has some 277 million subscribers.
- REMATCH: Tommy Fury calls out Jake Paul for an MMA fight after training with Tom Aspinall
“I see it from the public’s perception; yeah, it comes across as a lose-lose for sure and I see that angle for sure and I’m going to have to deal with that but the way I rationalize it, it’s a win-win-win for me personally.”
Paul, who has a professional record of 10-1, noted that it will be an ‘honor’ to share the ring with one of the three most iconic boxers in history, especially in front of a sold-out Texas stadium.
“Fighting Mike Tyson is such an honor and being in there with one of the three biggest names in boxing history – Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Mike Tyson – that’s such a win and man, fighting in front of 90,000 people is a dream come true.”
Fatefully, there was once a possibility that the Netflix showcase this November could have been the rematch against Tommy Fury; however, the British star and his team reportedly failed to grasp the enormity of the potential viewership.
“We got the deal done, Most Valuable Promotions for the deal done with Netflix and Netflix was like ‘Okay, go out and talk to three different opponents’ – we talked to Tommy Fury… They didn’t understand that this was going to be one of the most viewed fights ever, so they were saying no whilst Mike Tyson was saying yes.”
- OH DEAR: Mike Tyson admits why he’s fighting Paul as he provides an alarming health update
Steve-O reveals that Dana White secretly watched Jake Paul’s fight
Paul has been embroiled in a bitter feud with UFC President Dana White for a number of years, with the MMA promoter having repeatedly stated that he wants nothing to do with ‘The Problem Child’ and that he refuses to watch him compete.
Well, that might not be entirely correct, with Steve-O revealing later in the same podcast that he once caught Dana White watching Jake Paul fight Nate Diaz in the backrooms of a UFC show.
“That night there was a UFC fight night in Nashville, Tennessee… The main event was dreadfully boring, and Dana White dipped out of the arena.
“After the fight, we go into this room, and he’s just turned on you fighting Nate Diaz [so] I watched you fight Nate Diaz with Dana.”
The young boxer laughed “That’s crazy” given the intensity of their feud – having only just snuck into UFC 306 in disguise after allegedly being banned by White.
“It was interesting, he didn’t say anything bad or anything,” reaffirmed the Jackass actor.
Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson is scheduled for November 15 and will be broadcast for free exclusively on Netflix.
