‘It’s stupid, but I want to see it’: why Tyson’s Netflix fight is big box office | Boxing

Ttrailer for Netflix’s latest multimillion-dollar venture opens with a dramatic drumbeat, a gloved slap on the pillow and a familiar Brooklyn drawl. “He’s a manufactured killer,” says Mike Tyson, with almost cartoonish glee. “I’m a natural born killer.”

The camera then cuts to the man he will meet in the early hours of Saturday UK time, influencer Jake Paul. “We’re going to war,” predicts Paul, who made his fortune filming pranks such as I Sunk My Friend’s Car And Surprised Him With A New One before an even more lucrative pivot to boxing. “And he gets knocked out.”

Forget the fact that Tyson is 58 and hasn’t fought professionally since he stopped on his stool against Kevin McBride nearly 20 years ago. Or that the 27-year-old Paul is a relative novice who lost to Love Island star Tommy Fury last year. More than 60,000 fans are expected to flock to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas to watch the game in person, with millions more streaming it online.

But as the two men prepare to trade over eight two-minute rounds, rumors suggest the questions for more than $20m (£15.5m) each will hang in the Texas air. Is this just a creepy pantomime? Or should it be seen as a warning of what lies ahead? And, more intriguingly, why is Netflix throwing millions at this meeting of the old world of boxing with its new YouTube iteration? Especially when almost everyone in the sport thinks it’s a terrible idea.

Barry McGuigan, in his prime 40 years ago, sums up boxing’s turmoil particularly eloquently. “I’m 63 and Tyson is only five years behind me,” he says Observer. “So the idea that he’s boxing any guy, even if he’s just ordinary, is just so wrong at that age. You’re your reputation. That’s what people remember. And I remember Mike Tyson as a devastating machine.

“He was truly one of the most dangerous heavyweights to ever lace up gloves. There’s no doubt about that. And I don’t want people to say in 20 years, ‘Oh, that’s the guy who had that argument with that YouTuber.’

McGuigan is generous with Paul, saying he “obviously can box a bit”. But that makes the risks even greater for him. “A 58-year-old man shouldn’t be fighting,” he adds. “He just shouldn’t. At that age your punching resistance invariably wears off. And even though we see all these clips of Tyson doing the pads, it’s not real. What’s real is sparring against good quality opposition and seeing , how you look. You can be sure he doesn’t, considering his age.”

A very different perspective is offered by Adam Kelly, president of media at global sports marketing agency IMG. Kelly accepts that there are doubters, but predicts that Tyson v Paul has “the potential to break some of the best ratings of all time and be one of the most watched boxing fights of all time”.

Those are strong words, and they carry even more weight as Kelly was part of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor promotion in 2017, which was a pay-per-view smash and led the way for other crossover fights. In his current role, he also regularly speaks to major sports, organizations and broadcasters such as Netflix about what sports could look like in the future.

For Kelly, this fight is part of the next iteration of how we will watch sports. The first came through commercial television and advertising. The other from pay TV. This third wave is driven by Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Google with YouTube.

“Sports is a big part of the attention economy, and these guys are the most effective at turning attention into revenue,” he says. “So what they will be able to do better than the existing players is monetize the audience every time they watch.”

Tyson versus Paul is effectively the opening salvo for Netflix before it airs live NFL Christmas Day games, World Wrestling Entertainment events next year and potential live sports in the future. So how can companies like Netflix and Amazon compete with monthly fees from Sky or high pay-per-view fees? “I think one of the challenges facing sports is that direct monetization from fans is kind of being leveraged, to use an MMA term,” Kelly says. “However, in the attention economy, where sport is a central part, there are plenty of other ways in which engagement and audiences can convert into earnings for companies.

“For example, can Amazon convert attention to sports into additional retail opportunities and channel even more spending into its online shopping? And can Netflix expand and improve their ad platform, which is already significant and growing?”

As Kelly points out, Netflix is ​​approaching 300 million. households with its total subscriber base, as well as heading north of 50 million. at their ad-funded lower price level. “And based on their earnings, they think those numbers have significant potential to grow and ultimately deliver a different model from just having to charge more money from sports fans while also getting more revenue and more revenue into the game,” he says.

“The same applies to the other large tech companies. And if you draw these elements together, you can start to see something that is not an aberration. It is more of an upcoming trend.”

“I think we’ll look back on this and think, ‘Well, this is the moment when Netflix caught fire when it comes to sports,'” he adds. “They’re really pushing it. And I think it’s going to be one of the biggest games ever broadcast.”

Many in boxing remain skeptical. Promoter Eddie Hearn has criticized the fight, calling it “dangerous, irresponsible and disrespectful to boxing”, and ticket sales are said to have been sluggish. While McGuigan also fears the worst when the match begins. “I hope it’s proper and it’s not a bunch of choreographed nonsense,” he says. “And I hope that’s true. But if Tyson in his 20s hit Jake Paul, he would have put him in the hospital for a week. Not now because he’s an old man.”

But as Kelly points out, the critics were also out in force before Mayweather fought McGregor. “Boxing fans will tell you that McGregor was a terrible boxer, but I was there in Vegas and it was exciting and people bought into the fight in every way,” he says. “I think it will be the same.

“With that fight, we were able to bring these two superstars from completely different audiences together. It was the biggest pay-per-view global boxing event of all time (behind only Mayeather v Manny Pacquiao) and it kick-started a trend where the misfits, the influencers—like Logan Paul, Jake Paul, KSI and others—started to realize that a lot of people will pay to experience a different kind of event.”

Make no mistake, it will be no different when Tyson returns to the ring. Some will tune in hoping to see the former heavyweight champion deliver one final terrifying knockout. Others because Netflix’s algorithm has lured them in, or simply because they are curious about what will happen next. As one commenter on the official trailer on YouTube put it, “Is it stupid? Yes. Do I want to watch? Yes.” The reaction that followed suggested that many others felt the same way.