This composite photo compares former boxer Mike Tyson (left) and Jake Paul (right). Tyson and Paul will fight in July 2024.
François Nel | Christian Petersen | Getty Images
Mike Tyson’s return to the boxing ring and fight with Jake Paul this summer is already causing a pointed boost in ticket prices and great interest from players.
The Fight on July 20which will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will be broadcast around the world Netflix, is expected to be the most frequently bet on boxing match of the year. Fans are already lining up to buy tickets to see former heavyweight champion Tyson, who will be 58 at the time, take on 27-year-old social media influencer turned boxer Paul.
The fight that will be considered a professional fightwill consist of 8 rounds of two minutes each. Tyson last fought in an exhibition match in 2020, but his last professional fight was in 2005.
The event will also feature lightweight world champion Katie Taylor versus boxing pioneer and unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano. Both women previously achieved the first-ever sold-out women’s boxing main event at Madison Square Garden.
Most Valuable Promotions, the company Paul co-owns and is promoting the event, said more than 121,000 fans had signed up for pre-sale access to the fight. Official ticket sales start next Thursday.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event that literally touches six generations,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of MVP.
Bidarian said 35,000 people said they wanted to sit on the floor of the venue, and more than 10,000 said they wanted VIP seats.
Most Valuable Promotions also has an exclusive offer for the fight – a VIP package worth $2 million. The organization said it will include two ringside seats, which it claims have never been offered in boxing before.
The package will also include four front-row floor seats for the event, four second-row floor seats, a pre-fight locker room photo with Paul and Tyson, signed gloves by both fighters and a two-night luxury penthouse at the hotel where the fighters will stay.
“We are trying to bring awareness and visibility back to boxing in a gigantic way. This hasn’t happened for many, many years,” Bidarian said.
For those who can’t spend $2 million, secondary market sites like Gametime have listed ticket prices for the event. Currently, the cheapest tickets are available for $357 each, with ringside seats going for $8,067 each.
Interest in combat gambling has also increased. BetMGM is already taking bets on this fight. The odds indicate that Jake Paul is currently the favorite (-145), but 70% of bets are on Tyson.
“This is the type of megafight that will attract multiple demographics: Tyson supporters, Jake Paul haters and casual sports fans,” said Alex Rella, senior trader at BetMGM. “I fully expect this to be the biggest boxing match of the year.”
The financial terms of the fight or what Netflix will receive from it were not disclosed. Netflix will make the fight available to all subscribers for free as the streaming giant continues its expansion into the sport.
Tyson and Paul are expected to earn eight figures, Bidarian said.
“We hope this will become the most-watched streaming event in sports in the U.S.,” he added.
