ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jake Paul’s unanimous decision over Mike Tyson became the highest-grossing martial arts event in Texas with $18.1 million, the promotion company co-founded by Paul announced Tuesday.
Approximately 72,000 fans attended the eight-round fight at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, marking the latest in contention for Katie Taylor, who faced Amanda Serrano for the super lightweight title. It was held as part of a semi-main event that featured a number of decisions.
According to Most Valuable Promotions, the event surpassed the record $9 million for a Texas sports competition, set by Canelo Alvarez in 2021 when he faced Billy Joe Saunders at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium. It is said that
More than 73,000 fans showed up for the Alvarez-Saunders game, which at the time was the largest crowd for a U.S. sporting event since the pandemic began a year ago.
Paul defeated 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson in a lopsided decision, winning all but one round on the combined scorecards of the three judges. The YouTuber-turned-boxer has seven knockouts in the four-and-a-half years since turning pro, and this was his 11th victory out of 12 fights.
BetMGM said the fight was the highest-stakes fight in boxing or mixed martial arts, with three times the stakes and four times the prize money of any other combat sport in the sportsbook’s history. Caesars Sportsbook officials said the fight was on par with an NFL Monday night game.
Netflix reported a peak audience of 65 million viewers for the streaming platform’s debut of a live sports event. Netflix will stream two NFL games on Christmas and WWE’s “Raw” on January 6th.
