Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are set to compete as the main event of a card filled with professional fights, including title bouts. The corresponding pre-match press conference had no shortage of moments perfectly encapsulating the controversy of a 27-year old Paul facing a 58-year old Tyson as the fighters gearing for their respective matches on the card found their livelihoods and careers insulted by Jake Paul to their faces.
During the presser, Jake Paul, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions (MVP)―which is promoting the card, notably vented frustration when several of the fighters picked Mike Tyson to win in the upcoming main event.
“When I see dumb people saying dumb predictions I just feel bad for them,” Jake Paul stated after Emcee Ariel Helwani asked for a reaction on six of the nine fighters competing on the undercard picking Tyson to come out victorious. “At the end of the day, who wants to bet on it, huh?“
Notably, all of the fighters who picked Jake Paul to win are associated with MVP; American women’s super middleweight (168 lbs) contender Shadasia Green (14-1, 11 KO’s) signed with MVP last year, Puerto Rican legend Amanda Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KO’s) has been with the promotion since 2021, while French lightweight (135 lbs) contender Lucas Bahdi (17-0, 15 KO’s) has also fought for MVP during his last fight.
Paul proceeded to make handshake deals with several fighters including American featherweight (126 lbs) prospect Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (13-0, 8 KO’s), WBC welterweight (147 lbs) champion Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KO’s) and Irish women’s undisputed super lightweight (140 lbs) champion Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KO’s). The intention by Paul was for the fighters that picked Tyson to orally make bets, with most of the deals made numbering around $1,000,000 in bets for each fighter.
The handshake/oral deals made should be taken with a grain of salt given there has been no identifiable proof of contracts being sent out yet, and there remains the matter of a similar deal between Paul and former opponent Tommy Fury not having been honored by Paul.
The entire ordeal only sums up the effectiveness of Paul’s promotional efforts where antagonizing other fighters or embellishing his own ability or accomplishments has largely helped the former Disney star to boost his popularity inside and outside of the boxing world.
By continuing to play the part as “The Problem Child”, as his nickname embodies, Jake Paul has received a substantial buzz for his fights compared to professional fighters who have spent years honing their craft and move up the rankings. Coupled with the fact that Paul faced several well-known MMA fighters―with little to no boxing experience, the American influencer has managed to tap into a market that made him one of the most profitable fighters in boxing despite fighting lesser opposition.
However, his upcoming fight against Mike Tyson seems set to deteriorate Paul’s budding reputation as a legitimate fighter regardless of who wins or loses. With Tyson now 58-years old and his last professional fight having occurred in 2005 against Kevin McBride, there is little to gain for Paul other than financial benefits if he were to beat Tyson.
For Tyson, the same monetary benefits apply, though there appears to be a higher risk of his hard-earned reputation deteriorating depending on whether and how he loses. In the early late 1980’s/early 1990’s, Mike Tyson was considered one of the most fearsome fighters of his generation―an image that continues to persist even three decades after.
The financial incentives, however, seem to supersede the loss in reputation for both fighters as they are set to compete at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The AT&T Stadium is one of the largest venues in the United States and has a capacity of 80.000 [100.000 when extended].
Additionally, there will be profits made through streaming service Netflix who will act as the exclusive broadcaster to the event. Netflix currently has a customer base totaling around 280 million subscribers.
