Though it may have been an exhibition, there was apparently a great
deal of interest in the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Roy
Jones Jr.
According to multiple reports, the pay-per-view event drew more 1
million buys. Boxing journalist Dan Rafael revealed
that the card drew in the neighborhood of 1.2 million buys, while
MMAFighting.com received estimates that the show could even
exceed the figure provided by Rafael.
Tyson vs. Jones was promoted by social media company Triller with a
price point of $49.95. It was available through Fite TV as well as
various television and satellite providers. If those figures are
accurate, that would make the fight the highest-selling boxing
event of 2020 — the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch reportedly
drew between 800,000 and 850,000 buys — and puts it on pair with
UFC 251 (1.3 million) as the top-drawing combat sports card
overall.
The card also drew interest thanks to a matchup between YouTube
star Jake Paul and former NBA player Nate Robinson. Paul won by
knockout, and the clip of the finish went viral.
The eight-round exhibition between Tyson and Jones was ultimately
ruled a draw. After the bout, Tyson said that he would be
interested in future bouts, including another meeting with Evander
Holyfield.
UFC president Dana White kept on eye on the fight over the weekend
and came away impressed.
I was nervous,” White said at the UFC on ESPN 18 post-fight press
conference. “He’s [54] years old. Time is undefeated. Time takes us
all down. One of the things is I was worried for Mike is he has
this incredible aura still. Fighting is a young man’s game. All
that being said, he looked f—ing awesome tonight. I was blown away
how good he looked.
“And I was worried about Roy. Roy is 51 years old. Roy’s been more
active than Tyson has been. But Roy actually got more tired than
Mike tonight, which was shocking. I’m happy for them. I hope they
both made a f—ing zillion dollars. And it exceeded my
expectations.”