Jake Paul disclosed that he risked $60 million by fighting Mike Perry last summer, with a potentially record-setting event on the horizon.
The controversial YouTuber-turned-boxer was initially set to face Mike Tyson in July, but the fight was postponed to November due to Tyson`s health issue. While waiting for the rescheduled date, Paul chose to stay active and fought BKFC star Perry in the meantime.
Paul ultimately won the fight by knockout, but Perry, a former UFC fighter, proved to be a tougher opponent than many anticipated. Paul also had to lose about 30lb to reach cruiserweight, after gaining weight to prepare for Tyson in the preceding months.
Jake Paul Talks About ‘$60 Million Risk’ in Reality Show Teaser
In a teaser for his new reality show with his brother Logan Paul and their family, Jake Paul revealed previously unseen footage leading up to his fight with Mike Tyson. They were originally scheduled to fight on July 20, but Tyson`s health issue led to hospitalization and forced him to withdraw.
Instead, Paul fought Mike Perry, who had gained recognition in BKFC with victories over notable fighters. In the preview for “Paul American,” Paul mentioned that this risk put the $60 million Tyson fight in danger.
“I’ve been in training camp, the date is booked, let’s see who is crazy enough to fight me on seven weeks’ notice,” Paul said. Shortly after, he stated: “I’m taking a $60 million risk, it literally has to pay off.”
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson Event Broke Netflix Records
After defeating Perry, the eventual fight between Paul and Tyson became even bigger. A record-breaking crowd of 72,300 fans attended the event in Dallas, and viewership on Netflix was so high that the streaming service experienced crashes.
Reports later indicated that over 108 million viewers watched the fight, making it the largest boxing event in recent history. While the fight itself was not very exciting, Netflix has invested again in a trilogy fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for July.
Paul had hoped to fight Canelo Alvarez on Netflix this summer, but that plan changed. Instead, Alvarez has signed a four-fight deal starting this May with Turki Alalshikh, which is expected to include a major fight with Terence Crawford.
