On Friday November 15, Mike Tyson at age 58 returned to the ring to face Jake Paul, 31 years his junior. Because of his advanced years, the rules favored Tyson: just eight two-minute rounds with lighter gloves. There were 72,000 people at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to see the fight in person. Another 65 million or so watched it on Netflix. The fight was not intended to be an athletic contest exactly, more of a media event of epic proportions. Tyson’s name made an event of that magnitude possible. Nicknamed “Iron Mike,” “Kid Dynamite,” and “the Baddest Man on the Planet,” he is always mentioned in the “best heavyweight fighter ever” category.
No championship belt was awarded to the winner. However, both fighters, the promoter, Paul’s company, and Netflix each banked sizable rewards. Tyson was said to receive $20 million for his 16 minutes, the least of any of the participants.
It had been 20 years since Tyson last fought, but the last time that Mike Tyson took people’s breath away in a fight was closer to 30 years ago.
Except for one low moment when he lost to Buster Douglas, Tyson in his prime seemed unbeatable. He was lightning fast and packed a lethal punch. But that was the Mike Tyson who captured the sport world’s imagination from 1985 to 1992. That fighter has long since left the ring. However, that memory, an image of a young Tyson with the speed and lethal strike of a cobra, sold tickets and captured the imaginations of millions and millions of boxing fans.
Jake Paul is more a media personality than athlete, but he still is a decent club fighter, just not world-champion material. Paul has over 20 million YouTube followers, six billion views, and an estimated pre-fight net worth of $30 million. In his world, he is already a champion and promoting this fight demonstrates that.
The fight itself was not the most exciting prize fight of the last century, even if it grossed more than any other. Tyson had one round, the first, where he seemed capable of landing a blow. The first punch he threw looked almost Tyson-like, just a little slower and a weaker. But that was it. Mike did hang on for the whole fight. He ended up with his dignity, if not a win. Since the fight, criticism has grown, called a fraud, scripted, and fixed. It wasn’t, because it was not an athletic contest; it was a media event, entertainment.
In our capitalistic culture, there is a rule: caveat emptor, “let the buyer beware.” For those who paid too much for a ticket to AT&T Stadium or Netflix, or bet too much on Tyson, there was no fraud. No 58-year old fighter or any other aged athlete can compete against someone 30 years younger. None and we all know it. Not Mike Tyson, Michael Jordon, Barry Bonds, or Joe Montana. It can’t be done.
However, for boxing fans, it did give them a chance to talk trash, bet their hearts and mouths, and get excited on a Friday night. I was in a local Reno/Sparks casino for the fight. The sportsbook was jammed full and the crowd spilled out into the casino. Fight fans were everywhere in the casino, playing slot machines and table games before, during, and after the fight.
For me, the atmosphere was like the early days of slot tournaments at the Comstock in downtown Reno. Those first tournaments never attracted more than 100 participants. Contestants paid an entry fee and played with their own money. It was expensive and not for the faint of heart. Those tournaments generated more revenue than any other time or event, including New Year’s Eve. And they generated more excitement.
The revenue came not just from the tournament, but from all the other slot machines, table games, even keno. The excitement of the tournament permeated the casino and it infected everyone — gamblers, spectators, and employees. Friday evening for a few minutes, I felt that same raw excitement leading up to the fight. That cooled as the fight progressed and it became clear that a 20-year-old Mike Tyson was not going to appear from the mist and Paul was just a clubber. After the fight, most of the people left the sportsbook, but not the casino.
And while it was not a world-record-setting event at that casino, I would wager it was a much better Friday night than normal, especially in November. That casino did not invite higher-value customers, while certain other casinos did. The fight did not equal the Super Bowl or other mega-events, but it was a good off-season special event for the gaming industry.
Thanks, Mike, for the memories and the extra customers.
