Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr. sold considerably more PPVs than Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 2
Nostalgia sells, but no one could have predicted that a boxing pay-per-view event between a 54-year-old Mike Tyson and a 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. would sell more than a million pay-per-view buys.
According to a report from Dan Rafael, this past weekend's boxing pay-per-view event featuring an event-headlining exhibition bout between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. sold 1.2 million pay-per-views. The event apparently earned considerably more pay-per-view buys compared to the rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder, which sold 850,000 buys.
The co-main event of the event featured a fight between YouTube sensation Jake Paul and former NBA ace Nate Robinson.
I was told today by sources well over 1 million in the U.S. — probably in the 1.2 neighborhood, which would include traditional linear PPV, the @FiteTV digital app and DirecTV/Dish Network. A shockingly high number that will make the biggest selling #boxing PPV in quite awhile.
I believe the number was so huge because it was a perfect storm. Massive nostalgia during the pandemic. The pandemic kept a lot of people at home over Thanksgiving weekend. The price was $50 not the absurd $80ish for other #boxing events. Curiosity factor about Tyson.
The fight between Tyson and Jones Jr. ended in a draw after eight rounds of back and forth action. Fans were delighted to witness the return of "Iron Mike" after 15 long years. His performance was widely praised, with many people suggesting he Mike Tyson could still fight for the heavyweight championship title against the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. reportedly took home hefty checks worth $10 million and $3 million, respectively, following the event.
In the co-main event, Jake Paul picked up a huge knockout win against Nate Robinson, putting the latter to sleep in just the second round of the contest. Following his victory, Paul called out former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor.
The event also featured some brilliant musical performances from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa. UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was the color analyst for the magnum opus.