(LR) Mike Tyson, Nakisa Bedaryan and Jake Paul stand on stage during the press conference for the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match at Texas Live! In Arlington, Texas, on May 16, 2024.
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The highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson has already earned its place in the record books.
The company promoting the fight, Most Valuable Promotions, which Paul owns, told CNBC that it expects more than 70,000 people to attend the bout, which will take place Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Dallas Cowboys Stadium has a capacity of 80,000 spectators.
The promoter said gate receipts alone generated $17.8 million in revenue.
This makes it the largest boxing gate in history outside of Nevada. The previous record was $9 million in gate receipts for the 2021 bout between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders at AT&T Stadium.
The gate is also higher than any non-UFC fight in Las Vegas, other than Conor McGregor vs. Eddie Alvarez in New York City in 2016, MVP said.
Both Tyson and Paul will make eight figures from this fight, and Taylor and Serrano will receive record payouts for women's boxing, MVP co-founder Nakisa Bedarian told CNBC's “Closing Bell.”
The fight between Paul, the 27-year-old YouTube influencer turned boxer, and Tyson, the 58-year-old boxing legend, will air Friday at 8pm ET on Netflix, free to subscribers.
The event will also feature one of the most anticipated women's boxing bouts in history: undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor versus unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano.
Netflix has over 283 million paid memberships in over 190 countries. The bout will also serve as a test for the streamer as he delves deeper into the sports arena and as boxing moves beyond the pay-per-view model.
“The numbers don’t lie,” Paul said Wednesday at a news conference about the fight. “People want to see this and this is an amazing accomplishment…. This is a statement that we have the largest live gate outside of Vegas in the history of American boxing.”
Tickets for Friday's fight on StubHub range from about $58 to $1,500. MVP also sold high-end packages, including a $2 million VIP experience that comes with ringside seating. The promotions company says its 375 VIP seats are officially sold out.
For comparison, the biggest fight in Vegas history took place in 2015 between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. That fight generated more than $72 million in tickets, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
