The Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition bout is expected to become a part of the top 10 highest-grossing pay-per-view (PPV) events of all time.
Tyson recently fought Jones to a draw in their recent eight-round exhibition bout late last month. Despite both fighters being well past their prime, it was an entertaining contest that was an overall success.
With YouTuber Jake Paul also knocking out former NBA point guard Nate Robinson in the co-main event, there were plenty of eyeballs on the event and initially, it was reported that it drew just over 1.2 million PPV buys.
That was a success on its own, but the numbers are even bigger now.
Tyson-Jones Surpass 1.6 Million Mark
According to Triller founder Ryan Kavanaugh, the event is expected to rank in the top 10 most purchased PPV events of all time. That would mean it surpassed the 1.59 million buys Tyson earned for his fight with Evander Holyfield back in 1996.
With the PPV costing $50, that would also mean Triller made nearly $80 million in sales, having reportedly paid $50 million to land the rights to the fight.
More buys are expected in the coming weeks as traditional cable operators share the numbers with Triller.
“Despite everyone wanting for it not to work, we upset them by changing things up and making it work and dominated the conversation,” Kavanaugh told Boxing Scene.
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The 1.6 million figure would also make the event the most successful PPV of 2020 as it overtakes the 1.3 million buys for UFC 251 which featured a welterweight headliner between Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal.
For further context, Conor McGregor’s return at UFC 246 in January drew a reported 1 million buys.
The PPV model certainly still works, especially if the right names are present as well as the right circumstances.
