The much-hyped match of the year between 58-year-old boxing legend Mike Tyson and 27-year-old social media influencer turned boxer Jake Paul will take place today at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The showdown will be free to its nearly 300 million subscribers, highlighting the streaming platform’s push towards live events. The streaming giant could leverage the event to attract advertisers and expand its 70 million monthly ad-supported viewers.
Netflix is also testing its live-streaming capabilities with the match ahead of its plans to stream two NFL games on Christmas Day this year.
The OTT platform faced delays and issues when millions of users tried to access the app at once during the Love is Blind reunion episode in April (Netflix had to delay the stream and released a taped episode later).
The pro boxing event is expected to draw tens of millions of viewers on Netflix, with in-person ticket sales projected to exceed $16 million.
Back to the match
Tyson was the youngest heavyweight champion at 20 and retired in 2005. Paul, who gained fame on Vine and YouTube, has a 10-1 pro record and has defeated opponents like Nate Robinson.
ESPN notes that the 31-year age gap between the former boxing champ and the YouTuber is the biggest in pro boxing’s history.
Originally scheduled for July, the match was delayed due to Tyson’s health. The fight marks Iron Mike’s return to pro boxing and represents Netflix’s ambition to expand into live sports programming.
The event kicks off at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The Tyson-Paul match will be the last of four fights in the main card.