Mike Tyson’s comeback against Roy Jones Jr was HUGE success with ‘1.2m pay-per-view buys’ eclipsing Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder’s rematch as biggest boxing event of the year
- Mike Tyson returned to the ring for the first time in 15 years at the age of 54
- His exhibition against Roy Jones Jr was highly-anticipated by boxing fans
- It was massive commercial success with around 1.2 million pay-per-view buys
- Tyson Fury’s clash with Deontay Wilder only achieved between 800k – 850k
Mike Tyson’s highly-anticipated comeback against Roy Jones Jr was a massive commercial success with 1.2million pay-per-view buys.
‘Iron Mike’ had generated plenty of interest and publicity for his eight-round exhibition draw and the numbers confirm the Los Angeles showdown was one of the most lucrative fights of the year.
According to boxing insider Dan Rafael, the final number could even exceed 1.2m that the event has netted.
Roy Jones Jr (left) and Mike Tyson put on the best selling boxing match of the year so far
Even Deontay Wilder’s rematch with Tyson Fury was eclipsed by the veterans on Saturday
That number is inclusive of Triller, television platforms, satellite and online sales via FITE TV. Triller took a risk by pricing the bout at £37 in the US but it appears to have paid off handsomely.
At 1.2m buys, the exhibition is only edged off top spot for the year by the UFC welterweight title fight between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.
And astonishingly, those figures, if verified, will mean the two veterans put on the biggest pay-per-view fight so far this year in boxing.
Even current superstars Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury’s rematch only made between 800,000 and 850,000 pay-per-view sales, but that was priced higher at £59.
In terms of combat sports, it is the UFC who have thrived during the pandemic with Fight Island and Apex Arena in Las Vegas providing locations to keep the show on the road.
But Tyson and Jones even eclipsed Conor McGregor’s fight against Donald Cerrone, which picked up 1million buys.
No doubt a significant proportion of the buys for Saturday’s event were for social media star Jake Paul’s clash with former NBA player Nate Robinson.
Robinson was knocked unconscious in the second round.
Tyson himself is accustomed to being a huge pay-per-view star and in his prime was must-see television. His clashes with both Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis attracted more than one million buys.
Tyson and RJJ put on a show for the fans and fought to a draw in their eight-round contest
Triller may have feared that the fact there was nothing on the line in the exhibition may have turned fans off but the chance to see two of the all-time greats dust off the gloves and go toe-to-toe was too good to miss.
The streaming service reportedly paid more than £37m to secure the fight and will have more than made a profit.
Tyson has donated all of his earning to charity and spoken of his desire for more exhibitions. No doubt Triller will be just as enthusiastic.