Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford put on an impressive fight last weekend on Mexican Independence Day, as fans witnessed an unexpected upset win. ‘Bud’ made history, but it appears that the limelight from ‘real’ boxing matches is shifting towards the sports entertainment side of things. And guess what? It’s Jake Paul who’s standing on top, and even UFC’s Dana White has not been able to compete against the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
Jake Paul‘s boxing match against Mike Tyson had already caused the Netflix servers to break down, and as per reports, the fight garnered around 108 million viewership numbers. Luke Thomas claims that the reality of professional combat sports has shifted towards extravagant fights that are promoted on the backs of big stars. “Fight sports are a star-driven business,” Thomas tweeted, highlighting that Paul and Tyson’s stock in the market than Canelo and Crawford. “Combined star power of Tyson + Paul > combined star power of Canelo + Crawford.”
Well, Dana White might have to watch out for Jake Paul because his co-promoted fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford had a way lower viewership than the Mike Tyson fight. Reports claim the undisputed super middleweight fight amassed 41 million viewers, which is not a good look for Zuffa Boxing, as White has promised to revolutionize the sport. Meanwhile, there are reports that Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor‘s rematch also surpassed Canelo vs Crawford by a considerable margin, with 74 million viewers.
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The optics seem to be in Jake Paul’s favor because he has two fights with much higher viewership than Dana White’s UFC. As such, Luke Thomas claims that the story will not be any different when ‘El Gallo’ takes on Gervonta Davis later this year. “This is why Tank-Paul is also likely to surpass Canelo-Crawford,” he added. If Paul comes out on top again, he will have three fights–one fight that he promoted and two fights that he competed in–doing bigger numbers than the UFC CEO.
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Well, is it really Jake Paul’s star power, or did his last fight trend because we had a legend like Mike Tyson fighting for the first time in years? There are people on both sides of the spectrum, but it is important to note that Paul’s previous fights did not make anywhere near what his fight against Tyson did, not even the one against UFC icon Nate Diaz. Nevertheless, Paul is already looking to lock in his next opponent, and it seems Canelo Alvarez could be it.
Jake Paul reignites rivalry with Canelo Alvarez
Jake Paul was hoping to fight the Mexican superstar earlier this year, but Canelo Alvarez decided to deviate from that and fight Terence Crawford instead. And now, after his unanimous decision loss, the YouTuber-turned-boxer took the opportunity to throw jibes at the former undisputed super middleweight kingpin. Paul claims that people should not be surprised by Alvarez’s loss because he was never really on that level.
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“Canelo putting his hand up like he won. Lol, dumba– lying weirdo. Canelo been over rated,” Jake Paul wrote on social media. The YouTuber-turned-boxer has never had anything positive to say about Alvarez ever since he turned down the fight earlier this year. And what was that reason? Paul claims the Mexican star wanted more money, and hence, labeled him as being “money hungry.”
While it’s a rough period for Canelo Alvarez, who lost last weekend, it’s a great time to be a Jake Paul fan. He’s getting one high-profile opponent after another, and every fight has seen him compete against bigger and bigger stars. Do you think he will surpass Dana White and Co. once again? Drop your comments below.