Ding, ding! In less than two weeks on Friday, November 15, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, 58, will attempt to dethrone controversial social media sensation turned boxer Jake Paul, 27, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The fight will do little to impact Pound For Pound lists or the heavyweight title picture. Still, it has the potential to generate casual interest in a sport that was once more popular in America than football, baseball, and basketball.
Due to the attention that Paul and Tyson’s showdown has drawn, Netflix has elected to get into the fight game and broadcast their first live boxing event. While many boxing purists are not too fond of a nearly 60-year-old boxing legend getting into the ring with a Gen Z YouTube star, Netflix’s involvement could put many of the fighters occupying the undercard in front of the streamer’s nearly 283 million subscribers.
Most notably, Amanda Serrano will challenge Katie Taylor for the undisputed super lightweight title in a live event streamed on the same day on Netflix. This fight is being dubbed the co-main event. On the undercard but not to be forgotten, Tyson’s fellow Brooklynite and featherweight contender, Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, will challenge Dana Coolwell of Australia, and Mario Barrios will put his welterweight title on the line against Abel Ramos.
In a perfect world, a fight like Taylor-Serano II or an upcoming matchup like David Benavidez vs. David Morrell would headline a night of fights on Netflix, but that’s just not where the boxing business is currently.
With HBO and Showtime out of the boxing business, ESPN, Prime Video, and DAZN are holding the torch as the three primary broadcasters in a sport that has lost a chunk of its commercial appeal over the last few decades. As pay-per-view stars like Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez near the end of their career, boxing stakeholders could follow the Tyson-Paul blueprint of using a boxing crossover event as the primary marketing tool to bring more eyes to more consequential fights on a global platform like Netflix.
Here are seven fights that could serve that specific purpose as we inch closer to the Tyson-Paul event, which will also be previewed in a three-part documentary series. Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson premieres with two episodes on November 7, with Episode 3 coming out November 12.
Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson, Episodes 1-2 Premiere, Thursday, November 7, Episode 3 Premiere, Tuesday, November 12, Netflix
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, Live Event, Friday, November 15, 8/7c, Netflix