“She must overtake Hawk Tuah” - Netizens react as ring girl Sydney Thomas gains massive number of followers overnight, post viral fame
A 20-year-old woman named Sydney Thomas is currently trending online. This happened after her appearance as a ring girl during the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson boxing match on November 16 which was livestreamed on Netflix.
It earned her viral fame, including gaining a whopping 300,000 followers on Instagram in less than 48 hours. Amid her newfound popularity, the internet is having diverse reactions.
For instance, X user @notbusinessweek shared two TikTok videos from Sydney Thomas’ account and wrote in the caption:
“A star was born in Sydney Thomas. She must overtake Hawk Tuah as a cleansing for the people.”
Many people joined the conversation and shared similar reactions on the social media platform, comparing her to the viral Hawk Tuah girl, Haliey Welch.
“This might be worse than the Hawk Tuah girl,” an individual wrote.
“Hawk Tuah part 2,” another individual wrote.
“The only good thing to come out of that circus fight,” wrote another.
Others continued to chime in.
“Got famous for standing there,” a netizen wrote.
“Podcast coming soon,” another netizen wrote.
“She was smiling ear to ear the whole night,” a person wrote.
“This is the least surprising part of the whole fight honestly,” one person wrote.
Meanwhile, Sydney Thomas shared a couple of posts on her Instagram from the match night. One featured her solo and well as in a group comprising other ring girls.
She was also seen standing behind as Mike Tyson and Jake Paul greeted each other outside the ring. It was captioned, “It’s fight night…”
In the follow-up post, she offered glimpses from the night and expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to be a ring girl.
“What a night #paulvstyson. Getting the opportunity to step into the ring with @MikeTyson and @JakePaul for such a historic fight is something I never imagined I’d be able to say. Words can’t describe this moment or how grateful I am to be part of such an amazing team at @MostValuablePromotions. History was made, and I’m truly honored to have been a part of it,” she wrote.
In another post, she appeared in a reel seemingly outside the venue wearing the same black and red outfit and captioned, “Walking into the ring like.” All of the posts became viral, overnight.
All you need to know about Sydney Thomas
Sydney Thomas is a 20-year-old woman currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing and business at the University of Alabama and will graduate in December 2025.
Additionally, she is an MLB cheerleader for the St. Louis Cardinals in Missouri where she often interacts with fans, conducts interviews, and speaks publicly during the pregame.
Sydney Thomas is a self-employed social media marketing specialist who helps brands promote their products and services through her social media handles.
So far, she has collaborated with fashion/ lifestyle companies such as FashionNova, Versace, Boohoo, and Princess Polly. Sydney Thomas has over 907,900 followers on TikTok and 597,000 followers on Instagram where she posts updates from her life including her travel stories, outings with friends, family gatherings, yachting, dancing, lip-syncing, and more.
In the wake of her now-viral fame, the fashion influencer and sorority girl thanked her fans for the “overwhelming amount of love and support.”
Notably, the Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul fight took place on Saturday at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas which was live telecast on Netflix. It saw the 27-year-old YouTuber win over the 58-year-old former professional boxing champion.
Sydney Thomas was accompanied by four other ring girls during the match including Raphaela Milagres, Virginia Sanhouse, Delia Sylvain, and Lexi Williams. They were also present at the after-party.