Sublime to stupidity – ‘120 million’ witness two sides of boxing

It was uncomfortable, uneventful and uninteresting, but should we be surprised?

Somehow, boxing has a knack of duping the public. We read far too much into body language and demeanour, can be swayed by a slap at a weigh-in or live in a fantasy land powered by nostalgia.

At 27, Jake Paul was young enough and athletic enough to see off a 58-year-old Mike Tyson who was well past his best before the turn of millennium, and maybe well before that.

As a limited boxer, he was unable to get rid of a former world champion who had forgotten more about the sport than Paul will ever know.

So the Youtuber-turned-fighter, said to be wearing shorts costing upwards of $1m (£800,000) and encrusted with nearly 400 diamonds, kept Tyson at bay in a bore-fest and the traditionalists who criticised the event have been vindicated.

Paul says 120 million viewers watched it live globally on Netflix – in the streaming giant’s first foray into live boxing – but it was a poor look for the sport.

Before the stupidity in Texas, however, came the sublime when Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano battled out another classic.

Irishwoman Taylor – who beat the Puerto Rican in 2022 – edged another close win.

The scorecard will split opinion, but the sight of a bloodied Serrano throwing hands despite a ghastly cut and Taylor admirably weathering the storm somewhat saved the event.

It would be remiss to not start with the positive. The inclusion of Taylor and Serrano on the card delivered on its promise to add credibility to what many correctly predicted would be a farcical main event.

“We saw and witnessed again one of the greatest female fights of all time,” Taylor’s promoter Eddie Hearn said.

“The first one at Madison Square Garden was incredible and the second one, in front of 70,000, was just a testament to two incredible fighters – two legends of the sport.”

For anyone wondering how many subscribers would be logged on for the chief support fight, Taylor and Serrano quite literally broke the streaming platform. Viewers reported that Netflix crashed repeatedly throughout the fight.

The lull at the AT&T Stadium also soon changed with the crowd drawn in by a peak of boxing excellence.

The tactics were the same as the first fight; Serrano’s relentless volume punching and Taylor standing her ground. But it was the Puerto Rican who started strongly this time round, rocking Taylor early on before the Bray native fought back.

“I think it was very different from the first fight,” Taylor said. “I started a bit slow and changed it up in the second half. I definitely landed the bigger punches, I feel that’s what won me the fight.”

Seven-weight world champion Serrano – suffering from the horrific cut above her eye – once again felt hard done by.

She wants the trilogy, and the boxing world wants a third meeting. The ball is now in Taylor’s court.

Taylor-Serrano was the pinnacle of the sport, as good as it gets, but we were soon dragged into the circus that appears now engrained in modern boxing.

Tyson did not join his coaching team at the post-fight news conference. Their praise for his dedication to training offered little consolation to anyone who parted with their time or money to watch or attend the event.

Paul claims he carried ‘Iron Mike’ in the final part of the fight. “I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn’t want to hurt someone who didn’t need to be hurt,” he said.

If true, his comments only add to the ridicule.

Although the sport, with super fight and undisputed champions being crowned, is in a solid place after investment from Saudi Arabia, events like Tyson v Paul do still impact ‘proper’ boxing.

Diehard fans criticise the huge amount of media coverage it was given compared to – for example – Briton Chris Billam-Smith’s cruiserweight unification fight against Gilberto Ramirez in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Yet the event’s appeal is hard to ignore. Paul drew in a younger audience and Tyson is one of the most famous men on the planet. It crossed languages, genres and generations, with commentary offered in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German.

Netflix says it will reveal further viewing figures on Tuesday and Most Valuable Promotions hinted there could be more Jake Paul fights streamed on the platform.

But having dipped their toes in live boxing, perhaps Netflix will now retreat. Or maybe when further viewing figures are officially released, organisers will begin planning the next boxing-entertainment crossover to lure in the masses.