The boxing world will witness, this Friday (15), a clash that has attracted a lot of attention. On the one hand, Mike Tyson, one of the greatest figures in the history of boxing, guarantees at the age of 58 that he is still in shape to enter the ring and expand his record — there are 58 wins and 6 losses so far.
On the other, Jake Paul, a name recently launched in the sport but already well known on the internet, promises to surprise spectators with his performance, which for now boils down to ten wins and one defeat.
Both will face each other at AT&T Stadium, in Arlington, in the United States.
At 27 years old, Paul is a digital phenomenon. He began to gain fame as a teenager by producing videos with his brother Logan on the now-defunct short video platform Vine. Between 2016 and 2017, he starred in the Disney Channel series “Bizaardvark”, which had actress and singer Olivia Rodrigo as one of the protagonists.
At the same time, he released singles and created and fed his YouTube channel, where he now has 21.8 million subscribers. The contract with Disney was interrupted in the middle of the 2017 season by mutual agreement, according to a company spokesperson and Paul himself.
“At this point, I want to focus more on my personal brand, my YouTube channel, investment capital, growing Team 10 and working on more adult roles as an actor,” the influencer wrote at the time. The announcement was made amid rumors that Paul was having problems with neighbors due to parties, noise and crowds of fans in a Los Angeles neighborhood.
The house was occupied by members of Team 10, a group of influencers who lived together in a property rented by Paul for US$18,000 a month (the equivalent of around R$75,600 at the time). The group was a reflection of a marketing agency created with the aim of boosting the careers of young digital creators.
Over the years, several accusations emerged from former members that the collective had a toxic culture involving bullying and harassment, in addition to reports of cases of homophobia and transphobia.
Jake Paul accumulated more controversy when he posted an explicit video on his YouTube channel in 2018 and, in 2019, when he married fellow American influencer Tana Mongeau. The relationship came to an end six months later and was speculated to be a marketing ploy.
The following year, he began his career in boxing. There were 10 victories — some over respected names in MMA, such as Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz and Tyron Woodley — and 1 defeat. The only setback was against professional boxer Tommy Fury, in early 2023. Since then, there have been five consecutive victories, the last of which against UFC fighter Mike Perry, by technical knockout in the sixth round.
In 2021, Paul created Most Valuable Promotions, a company that promotes events related to boxing and content creation and which is behind the YouTuber’s fight against Mike Tyson, together with Netflix. His second company, a sports betting platform, has accumulated total funding of US$100 million (R$578 million) since its founding in 2022. He also has a third startup, male body care, which has also raised funds in investment rounds.
Considered the third highest-paid content creator of 2023 by Forbes, Paul fell to 13th on the list released this year. The earnings received by the influencer in the two years were calculated at US$34 million (R$196.7 million) and US$13.4 million (R$77.5 million), respectively.
According to the 27-year-old boxer himself, he should receive around US$40 million (R$231.5 million) just for participating in the fight. Paul is confident of victory over the idol of noble art. “On Friday my dreams come true and my career begins. This is the beginning of an incredible journey,” he said in a video published by Most Valuable Promotions.
Despite her self-confidence, she revealed in an interview on her YouTube channel that her mother is worried about the fight. “My mom has been sending me messages, she can barely see Tyson punching, she doesn’t watch because it scares her,” he said.
WHERE TO WATCH
The main card will be broadcast on Netflix from 10pm Brasília time.
Before that, at 7:30 pm, the preliminary card fights will take place, which will be broadcast on the Most Valuable Promotions and Netflix YouTube channels and on the Netflix Tudum website.
