Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul is now upon us but just how much money is Iron Mike set to take home when all is said and done? 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’s even managed to draw the legendary Tyson out of retirement.
Set to broadcast on Netflix on Friday, November 15, the two will be trading blows inside a boxing ring in a fully licensed, entirely legitimate fight. But what’s actually in it for the 58-year-old sports icon?
Well, outside of shutting up one of the internet’s biggest villains, there’s no doubt a pretty nice payslip involved too. So just how much is Mike Tyson set to make for fighting Jake Paul? Here’s what we know.
Both Paul and Tyson are set to take home tens of millions for their Netflix fight.
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 next 24 hours as the event gets underway.
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. Though thanks to some dubious bets moments later, he might actually be taking home considerably less if he holds up his end of the agreement.
Should it be an exact 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.”