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Boxers Jake Paul, Mike Tyson Square Up in Gritty Netflix Fight Night Trailer

etan vlessing
·3-min read

Jake “El Gallo” Paul and the Baddest Man on the Planet Mike Tyson appear in a teaser for Netflix’s upcoming boxing mega-event worthy of a cinematic promotional trailer.

“There’s never been a night this big,” trailer narrator Samuel L. Jackson declares in the video (below) as fearsome Paul and Tyson, bobbing and snarling in their respective corners, appear ready to answer the bell for Netflix’s entry into live combat sports on Nov. 15 with Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.

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There’s ample footage of earlier prizefights where Paul knocks down opponents and Tyson, who in his prime years was known for explosive first round knockouts. “This is a fight the world’s been waiting for,” the narration continues, as Netflix looks to offer the bout to its global subscribers, while still needing to sell out the 80,000-seat Arlington, Texas arena.

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson as a boxing event will be produced for Netflix by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and includes the co-main event Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, and undercard bouts with Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos and Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes.

And Netflix isn’t done with its fight night promotion: The previously announced Countdown: Paul Vs. Tyson, a three-part companion documentary series, releases its first two episodes Nov. 7, with the third episode releasing Nov. 12 just before the big event.

The boxing event expands on Netflix’s evolving live sports strategy as it gets onto the turf once dominated by late-night broadcast TV, before migrating over to HBO, Showtime and pay-per-view events.

Netflix inked an earlier 10-year deal with the WWE valued at more than $5 billion, but the streamer noted at the time the WWE blurs the line between sports and entertainment. The Paul and Tyson bout promises to be more like The Netflix Slam, which saw tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal facing off in Las Vegas, or The Netflix Cup, which was the company’s first foray into live sports with PGA Tour stars pairing with Formula 1 drivers in a golf event.

The revival of the fight game on Netflix is also largely driven by Paul who, as a digital creator along with his brother Logan Paul, came up as popular YouTube creators.

In a recent The Hollywood Reporter cover story on Paul, he predicted the fight will bring Netflix 25 million viewers, which would make it the most-watched boxing match of all time. (Paul also let it slip at a press conference that he’s making $40 million for the bout.)

“For Mike Tyson, this is his opportunity for redemption,” Gabe Spitzer, vp at Netflix Sports, told THR for the story. Paul’s manager, former UFC chief financial officer Nakisa Bidarian, added, “If Mike Tyson at 58 comes back and knocks out Jake Paul, he’ll be revered for the rest of his days. He put an end to this YouTuber’s reign. Now, if Jake does knock out Mike Tyson, sure, there will be a lot of people who are mad. But there’s also going to be a lot more opportunities for him in the world of boxing.”

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