By the end, it felt like I had watched a rich kid pay a celebrity to jump in the ring with him.
Against all good sense and cynical predictions of many sports columnists, I was actually looking forward to Mike Tyson’s fight Friday on Netflix against YouTube star-turned-pro boxer Jake Paul.
And I wasn’t alone. According to Netflix, 108 million people watched the bout over 65 million streams, making it the most-watched sports streaming event ever (that includes Super Bowls and the Olympics, by the way). About 56% of all TV viewing between midnight and 1 a.m. Saturday morning was tuned into the livestream; the earlier fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor drew 74 million people, making it the most-watched professional womens sporting event ever — again, according to Netflix.
There was a part of me that missed the glory days of heavyweight boxing – where Tyson was its last, unadulterated star. And as a 59-year-old media critic, even more of me wanted to see an old school champ knock the stuffing out of an upstart influencer less than half his age.
Instead, after a match where Tyson shuffled around, landing just 18 punches over eight rounds, I felt like I had watched a rich kid pay a celebrity to jump in the boxing ring with him for a birthday party.
Worse, I had seen a debacle which reflected our current state in media and the world. A once-impactful sport was hijacked by an aging star — who is also a convicted rapist — and gonzo influencer culture, where all that matters is how much attention you can command and the size of the check you cash when it’s over.
(To hear me talk about this on NPR with Weekend All Things Considered host Scott Detrow, CLICK HERE).
A far from legendary matchup
Aside from a flurry of activity in the first round, Tyson looked winded and careful throughout the match, like he feared breaking a hip if he moved too fast (When I saw him climb in the ring wearing a knee brace, which Netflix’s cameras artfully avoided early on, I thought that wasn’t a great sign). Paul, who has proved tougher than some expected in previous fights, seemed relaxed and in command for most of it; Tyson looked like a man trying hard not to embarrass himself.
“Why isn’t Jake Paul just teeing off on him?” commentator Rosie Perez said at one point, perhaps forgetting what kind of event she was hip deep in. Earlier, Perez noted, “Mike is taking those shots. The question is, for how long.”
It says something about Netflix’s slipshod production that having an Oscar-nominated actress analyze the action ringside wasn’t nearly the oddest thing that happened Friday. A boxing superfan nicknamed “the first lady of boxing,” Perez actually did an admirable job speaking on all four bouts the streamer aired.
But man, did Netflix drop the ball everywhere else. Presumably because so many people were trying to watch the fight, I experienced the kind of serious technical issues lots of other fans complained about on social media – images which would freeze for long seconds or grow fuzzy, sound which would get thin and distant without warning, and moments when I’d just get kicked off the livestream completely, forcing me to go back to Netflix’s home page and re-enter.
And the technical terribleness wasn’t just for viewers. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones found his microphone didn’t work, initially. Evander Holyfield, who famously had his ear bitten by Tyson while fighting him, couldn’t seem to hear in a monumental irony. I heard someone who seemed to be from the production crew shouting the f-word at low volume in the background during a panoramic shot of the venue.
And social media lit up with clips of a pre-fight interview where Tyson walked away from the camera, showing his naked behind for long seconds. Lest you think that was a mistake, Netflix showed the clip again in a montage of images after the fight ended.
In the end, according to Netflix, 60 million households watched the Paul vs. Tyson main event, peaking at 65 million concurrent streams. (Nearly 50 million households tuned in for the earlier fight, Serrano vs. Taylor, where some fight fans felt Amanda Serrano got robbed of a victory by Kate Taylor, amid accusations of head butting).
Netflix says organizers raked in $18 million just from the 72,000 people who showed up at the arena in Texas. Tyson reportedly earned $20 million and Paul – whose company Most Valuable Promotions actually promoted the fight — says he made $40 million. So the checks they cashed were grand, even if the fight itself was a bizarre let down.
But Netflix, which will livestream two NFL games on Christmas Day and WWE wrestling next year, looked considerably underprepared. And us viewers were left feeling a little hoodwinked – like a kid at the county fair who finally figures out the ring toss game is rigged.