Mike Tyson's return to the ring to fight Jake Paul marked one of the biggest spectacles in sports. Around 60 million households streamed the fight on Netflix, and more than 70,000 spectators were at AT&T Stadium in Dallas for the event which was postponed and rescheduled for November 15 after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles in May.
The former undisputed heavyweight world champion has pocketed several mammoth paydays during his professional career, and is expected to pocket a fortune against Jake Paul.
Mike Tyson's Career Earnings
Mike Tyson is no stranger when it comes to pocketing life-changing paydays. The heavyweight icon once fought his way to an astonishing $400m fortune because of his ability in the ring.
Regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, 58-year-old Mike Tyson has an estimated net worth of $10 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. That is a modest sum compared with the hundreds of millions of dollars "Iron Mike," as he is known, accumulated in career earnings, including $400 million in fight purses, according to Forbes.
In 2024, it is estimated that the 58-year-old has a cushy net worth of around $10m, thanks to his endorsements, businesses, partnerships and his highly-successful Hotboxin' podcast. Over the last decade, Tyson has also fought his way back after filing for bankruptcy in 2003.
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His upcoming bout with the social media star will only do wonders for the 58-year-old's bank balance, with the former heavyweight champion expected to earn at least $20m for the heavyweight dust-up.
Mike Tyson: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of a Legend
Notable Fight Purses
Here, we take a look at some of the biggest fight purses Tyson's career...
Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson: $103 Million
Towards the back end of his career, 'Iron Mike' took on Lennox Lewis as the American star looked to pick up the unified heavyweight titles. Coincidentally, for Lewis, it was his second to last fight of his professional career. While both men were fairly past their prime, millions from across the globe were still so eager to tune in and see how the fight would play out.
Tyson was largely dominated throughout the fight before suffering a knockout defeat in the eighth round. Despite losing on the night, the American would go on to pocket a life-changing payday of $103m.
Evander Holyfield vs Mike Tyson: $30 Million
In what was one of the biggest heavyweight fights of the decade, after years of making, Tyson and Evander Holyfield put on a jaw-dropping display in 1996. There was a lot of hype that surrounded the blockbuster showdown, and it's fair to say that it exceeded many people's expectations. In what was an intense back-and-forth encounter, it was Holyfield who was eventually able to take control of the fight before picking up a stunning 11th round knockout.
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Tyson would go on to earn $30 million for each of his next four matches, which included an infamous 1997 fight against Evander Holyfield in which Tyson bit off a piece of his opponent's right ear. Tyson was disqualified from the fight, had his boxing license revoked and fined $3 million, but was allowed to keep the purse. At a news conference on Wednesday, Paul wore a diamond-spiked ear cover, a pointed reference to the incident.
Despite suffering the second defeat of his professional career, Tyson still walked away with $30m in his pocket.
Frank Bruno vs Mike Tyson II: $30 Million
Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno first went head-to-head back, with 'Iron Mike' going on to secure a devastating knockout in the fifth round. The pair once again went glove-to-glove seven years later for the WBC heavyweight strap. This time around, Tyson needed less time to get the job done after he knocked out his British rival in the third round and pocketing $30million from the fight.
After the dust-up, Bruno announced his retirement from the sport of boxing.
Buster Douglas vs Mike Tyson: $6.4 Million
In 1990, 'Iron Mike' travelled to Japan to take on fellow American Buster Douglas. In what was one of the most highly-anticipated contests of the year, fans were not disappointed at all and were entertained from start to finish. With Tyson well and truly in his prime, he was looking pretty much unbeatable until Douglas secured one of the biggest upsets in the history of heavyweight boxing by knocking his rival out in the 10th round.
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Despite suffering the first defeat of his professional career, Tyson still earned a wealthy sum of $6.4million.
Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks: $22 Million
Throughout his professional career, Tyson went toe-to-toe with some of the biggest names in the history of the sport. Against Michael Spinks - who held the lineal and The Ring heavyweight championship titles leading up the bout - 'Iron Mike' was in for a tough challenge. That said, many were surprised by Tyson's performance as the former undisputed champion completely ran through the boxing icon, defeating his opponent in a little over 90 seconds.
That's about the same dollar amount Tyson earned in his match against Michael Spinks in 1988, a record purse at the time (worth roughly $53 million today adjusting for inflation).
The Jake Paul Fight
Jake Paul, a former child star and social media influencer who started boxing professionally in 2020, slugged it out with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on Friday in a matchup that was livestreamed worldwide on Netflix. Paul won the fight by unanimous decision.
Although the 58-year-old former world heavyweight champion lost by unanimous decision against the 27-year-old social media sensation, he's still expected to take home $20 million.
Paul had an even bigger payout as the winner. "I'm here to make $40 million and knock out a legend," Paul said at a pre-fight news conference.
Even with a 31-year age gap between the fighters, the fight lasted all eight rounds. Paul had a sizable advantage on the scorecards. He moved to 11-1 in a career that started less than five years ago and has seen him fight opponents past their prime.
Payouts for the Fight
Here's what we know about how much Paul and Tyson were being paid, along with other financial aspects of an event that many consider more spectacle than sport.
Though promotors did not reveal exactly how much Tyson earned for Friday's fight, reports from online sources, including DraftKings Network, estimate he'll make around $20 million.
Jake Paul, 27, is set to earn $40 million, according to an estimate from DraftKings Network and other sources - double what Tyson is expected to receive for the fight. A simple explanation for that may be that Paul, a top social influencer with 27 million followers on Instagram alone, is also co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the company promoting the extravaganza in partnership with Netflix.
With a 10-1 fight record, mostly against mixed martial artists and other pro-boxing newcomers under his belt, Paul, a former child star and YouTube prankster who began his boxing career in 2018, does not lack confidence - or showmanship. His cocky attitude earned him his latest nickname "El Gallo de Dorado" or the Golden Rooster, coined by fans in Puerto Rico.
The undisclosed purse is estimated by some to be as high as $80 million.
Betting and Spectacle
As of early Friday evening, gate receipts at AT&T Stadium brought in $17.8 million in revenue, CNBC reported. Promotor MVP told the news outlet it expects more than 70,000 people fill the stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys, which has a seating capacity of 80,000.
Tyson enters the ring nearly 20 years since his last professional fight as a +160 underdog, according to the latest betting odds from DraftKings. At -200, Paul is the favorite to win.
Gamblers are backing Tyson, according to DraftKings, with 69% of all bets currently on the former undisputed world champion to emerge victorious.
For most fans, the best seats will be at home, with Tyson vs. Paul streaming worldwide on Netflix. A standard Netflix subscription plan with ads is $6.99 a month. As reported by CBS Sports, the fight marks Netflix's biggest bet to date on live sports.