Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul is now behind us but just how much money did Iron Mike take home for the unanimous decision loss? Here’s what we know about his fight purse for the blockbuster Netflix event.
Love him or hate him, the younger Paul brother has certainly done a great job captivating audiences over the years. Through his many amateur and professional bouts, he even managed to draw the legendary Tyson out of retirement.
Broadcast on Netflix on Friday, November 15, the two were trading blows inside a boxing ring in a fully licensed, entirely legitimate fight. And while it may not have been quite the spectacle fans had hoped, both fighters walked away that little bit richer.
Outside of the chance of shutting up one of the internet’s biggest villains, there was no doubt a pretty nice payslip involved too. So just how much did Mike Tyson make for fighting Jake Paul? Here’s what we know.
Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight purse details
At the time of writing, exact fight purses for the event have not been officially disclosed. It’s likely we’ll receive that information in the near future now the fight itself is in the rearview mirror.
For now, however, we do have some early information to go off. During the pre-fight press conference on November 13, Jake Paul claimed to be taking home $40 million for his efforts.
“I’m here to make $40 million and knock out a legend. I don’t give a f*ck about anything else,” he said on stage.
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Should it be an even split, meaning both sides of the main event take home the same amount, it means Iron Mike could be netting a $40 million sum as well. Though that doesn’t appear to be the case.
According to fellow combat sports legend, former Olympian turned UFC champ Henry Cejudo, his pal Tyson is “going to wind up making close to about $20 million,” as he claimed on his Pound 4 Pound podcast.
If Cejudo’s word is accurate, that’s still a decent payday, but it barely comes close to matching Tyson’s all-time highest-earning PPVs. In 2002, Tyson lost a scrap to Lennox Lewis, though he walked out the ring $103 million richer that night.
Clearly, Tyson is fairly well off and he’s even admitted as much in the lead-up to fighting Paul. “ “This fight is not going to change my life financially,” Tyson said in an interview with SPORTbible. “If I did it for free, it’s not going to change my life. My wife is constantly telling me, ‘You do not need to do this fight’.
“This is what I want to do; this is me. I’m seeking my glory.”