Jake Paul has revealed that he risked $60million fighting Mike Perry last summer with a record-breaking event in the pipeline.
The controversial YouTuber-turned-boxer famously faced Mike Tyson in November, after their initial July fight date was pushed back due to an ulcer flare-up. While waiting for the new date, Paul decided to remain active and faced BKFC star Perry in the interim.
Ultimately, Paul ended up winning the fight by knockout, but he was given a tougher test than expected by the former UFC star. He also had to cut as much as 30lb in order to get to cruiserweight, having bulked up to heavyweight to face Tyson throughout the previous months.
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Jake Paul opens up about ‘$60million risk’ in new reality show teaser
In a new teaser for Jake Paul’s new reality show with his brother Logan Paul and their family, the ‘Problem Child’ showed new unseen footage from the build-up to his fight with Mike Tyson. The pair were due to fight on July 20, but a health issue saw the legendary former champion hospitalized and forced out.
Instead, Paul took on Mike Perry, who had built a name for himself in BKFC over the previous year landing wins over big names such as Eddie Alvarez and Luke Rockhold. And in the new preview for Paul American, he noted that such a risk put the $60million Tyson fight in jeopardy.
“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 told the cameras during one segment, with Perry’s face flashing across the screen. Moments later, he can be seen declaring: “I’m taking a $60million risk, it literally has to pay off.”
Jake Paul and Mike Tyson ended up breaking records on Netflix
Ultimately, once Paul got through Perry it made the eventual meeting with Tyson even bigger. A record-breaking 72,300 fans packed into the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, with home viewing numbers on Netflix reaching such highs that the streaming service crashed.
Eventually, it emerged that over 108million viewers tuned in for the fight, making it far and away the biggest bout in recent boxing history. The fight itself was something of a damp squib, but Netflix have already bought in again on a trilogy between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for July.
It was looking like Paul might tempt Canelo Alvarez into a bout on the streamer this summer, but that was eventually taken away. Instead, the legendary Mexican boxer has inked a four-fight deal starting this May with Turki Alalshikh that is expected to include a super-fight with Terence Crawford.
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