Notebook: Paul-Tyson brings Netflix huge viewership, but also problems

Sheeraz headed to title shot vs. Adames; Benavidez-Morrell PPV card set; Ryan Garcia exhibition in Japan announced; Jonas, Habazin to unify; Pacheco plans; Quick hits; Show and tell

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There was good news and bad news for Netflix, which streamed the Jake Paul-Mikey Tyson heavyweight spectacle on Friday night from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas,

The good news was that there was an enormous audience for the 27-year-old Paul’s near-shutout eight-round decision over the iconic 58-year-old former undisputed champion, who took part in his first official bout — even with a few rules tweaks such as two-minute rounds instead of three and 14-ounce gloves instead of 10 — in nearly 20 years.

Netflix, which boasts 283 million subscribers globally, reported that the Paul-Tyson main event was watched by 60 million households and peaked at 65 million concurrent streams.

Further, Netflix, which was putting on its first live sports event, reported that “nearly 50 million households globally tuned in live for the co-main event,” which was the spectacular rematch between undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor and fellow women’s star Amanda Serrano. Taylor won the epic slugfest by disputed decision 2½ years after winning a heavily disputed split decision in their first all-time classic fight to retain the undisputed lightweight title.

According to Netflix, once all of its numbers are in, Taylor-Serrano “is likely to be the most watched professional women's sporting event in U.S. history.”

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The numbers, however, are only from Netflix, whose viewership is not measured by Nielsen, which measures viewership for network and cable television shows.

Joe Hand Promotions, the leader in handling distribution of sports and entertainment programming for out-of-home viewing in the U.S., distributed the Paul-Tyson event to more than 6,000 bars and restaurants in the US, setting the record for commercial distribution of a combat sports event in the company’s 50-plus year history.

But it wasn’t all good news for Netflix, which badly struggled with widespread buffering issues to its stream and outright system crashes during the main event.

According to Bloomberg, Netflix chief technology officer Elizabeth Stone wrote an internal memo to her staff addressing the issues and said, “This unprecedented scale created many technical challenges, which the launch team tackled brilliantly by prioritizing stability of the stream for the majority of viewers. I’m sure many of you have seen the chatter in the press and on social media about the quality issues. We don’t want to dismiss the poor experience of some members, and know we have room for improvement, but still consider this event a huge success.”

The fight was essentially a test run for Netflix’s next live sports endeavor, which will be streaming two NFL games on Christmas Day. After what happened during Paul-Tyson, NFL officials reportedly inquired with Netflix due to concerns of it happening during next month’s games.

For Most Valuable Promotions, which is co-owned by Paul and Nakisa Bidarian and promoted the event, it was also huge night besides just a win by Paul (11-1, 7 KOs).

Bidarian announced after the fight that the live gate — ticket sales — was more than $18.1 million, a record for any event in Texas history and more than double the biggest boxing gate, which was about $9 million for Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders, also at AT&T Stadium, in May 2021.

The Paul-Tyson gate also made if the biggest boxing gate in U.S. history for any event outside of Las Vegas.

The fight drew a crowd of 72,300 to the home of the Dallas Cowboys, making it the second-largest U.S. indoor attendance for a boxing match, just shy of the record of 73,126 set by Alvarez-Saunders.

“We had a gate of over $18.1 million, a record for the state of Texas. Double what Canelo did when he fought here the last time, post pandemic when demand for tickets was much higher,” Bidarian said. “It happened with a young man (Paul) who's four years in the sport and a legend, an icon. And Mike Tyson, who came back and put on an amazing show. We actually exceeded Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor in terms of commercial establishments that paid to show the fight.”

As big of a draw as Paul is the fight was really built on the curiosity of seeing what Tyson (50-7, 44 KOs) could do after such a long time out of the ring. Even after two decades without an official fight, the public is clearly still fascinated by him and that only grew with an extended buildup to the fight, which was postponed from July because Tyson needed time to recover from a flare up of a bleeding ulcer. His medical situation was apparently much more serious than had previously been disclosed.

Tyson offered some details on social media after the fight.

“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for (Friday) night. No regrets to get in ring one last time,” Tyson wrote. “I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25 lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won.

“To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you.”

Sheeraz middleweight title shot

Middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz is headed to a world title shot but not against WBO/IBF titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly, who he had been ordered to face.

Instead, Sheeraz will face WBC titlist Carlos Adames in a fight being planned for the Riyadh Season card being put together for Feb. 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources with knowledge of the details told Fight Freaks Unite.

Queensberry Promotions, which recently signed Sheeraz to a contract extension, was in talks with Premier Boxing Champions to match him either with Adames or WBA titlist Erislandy Lara but they agreed on the Adames fight, one of the sources said.

While Adames-Sheeraz is not yet signed the camps have agreed to terms, the sources said.

That word was good enough for Sheeraz and his team because Sheeraz withdrew from the WBO purse bid scheduled to take place on Monday for a fight between him and Alimkhanuly.

Newly elected WBO president Gustavo Olivieri announced on social media that Queensberry’s George Warren, on Sheeraz’s behalf, notified the WBO that he had withdrawn from the purse bid and that the WBO would soon mak a decision on Alimkhanuly’s next mandatory challenger.

Sheeraz (21-0, 17 KOs), 25, of England, has emerged the hottest of all middleweight contenders this year thanks to three impressive wins, a first-round knockout of Liam Williams in February, an 11th-round knockout of then-unbeaten Austin “Ammo” Williams on the “5 vs. 5” card in June, and a second-round destruction of Tyler Denny on Sept. 21 to win the European title, which Sheeraz recently vacated.

Adames (24-1, 18 KOs), 30, of the Dominican Republic, was elevated from interim titleholder to full earlier this year when Jermall Charlo was stripped. Adames has defended the full title once, scoring a unanimous decision over Terrell Gausha on June 15 in Las Vegas.

Benavidez-Morrell card set

Unbeaten light heavyweights David Benavidez and David Morrell will square off in the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions Prime Video pay-per-view card on Feb. 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, PBC announced. A news conference is scheduled for Tuesday in Los Angeles.

The fighters announced last month that they had agreed to terms but the date and site were not yet set.

Benavidez, whose WBC interim title will be at stake, and Morrell, who will defend the WBA “regular” belt, are both already mandatory challengers in their respective sanctioning organizations for undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev.

Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), 26, of Phoenix, vacated the WBC interim super middleweight title and made his debut at light heavyweight on June 15 and outpointed former lineal/WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the vacant WBC interim belt at 175 pounds.

Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), 26, a Cuban southpaw fighting out of Minneapolis, vacated the WBA “regular” super middleweight title and moved up to light heavyweight and outpointed “Hot Rod” Radivoje Kalajdzic for the vacant WBA “regular” belt in the division on Aug. 3.

They both moved up in weight because they were unable to get a fight with unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez despite being mandatory challengers.

In the co-feature, as expected, Brandon Figueroa will defend the WBC interim featherweight title in a rematch against Stephen Fulton Jr., a fight initially slated for the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach card that was to have taken place on Dec. 14 but was called off and likely will be rescheduled for March 1.

Figueroa has wanted a rematch with Fulton since losing to him by hotly contested majority decision in an all-action fight to unify the WBC and WBO junior featherweight titles in November 2021.

Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs), 27, of Weslaco, Texas, moved up to featherweight in his next bout and has won his three fights since. He stopped Carlos Castro in the sixth round of a title eliminator in July 2022; handily outpointed Mark Magsayo to win the vacant interim belt in July 2022; and defended it by ninth-round knockout of Jessie Magdaleno in May on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia undercard.

After Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs), 30, of Philadelphia, unified against Figueroa, he defended the belts by unanimous decision against former titlist Daniel Roman in June 2022 and then traveled to Japan, where he lost the belts by one-sided eighth-round knockout to Naoya Inoue in July 2023.

Fulton was idle until September, when he moved up to featherweight and barely beat Castro by split decision in a 10-rounder on the Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga undercard.

Also on the pay-per-view, former WBA junior welterweight titlist Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (26-3-1, 18 KOs), 26, will face Mexican countryman Angel Fierro (22-2-2, 17 KOs), 26, in either a 10- or 12-rounder. The fight will be Cruz’s first since he lost a decision and the title to Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela by split decision in his first defense on the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov card on Aug. 3.

In the opening PPV bout, junior middleweight Jesus Ramos Jr. (21-1, 17 KOs), 23, a southpaw from Casa Grande, Arizona, will face former unified titlist Jeison Rosario (24-4-2, 18 KOs), 29, of the Dominican Republic, in a 10-rounder. Ramos will be seeking his second win in a row since losing a controversial decision loss to Erickson Lubin in September 2023.

Ryan Garcia exhibition

Ryan Garcia, who is suspended in the United States until at least April for multiple failed drug tests related to a win that was changed to a no contest against Devin Haney this past April in New York, is going to Tokyo for an exhibition bout on Dec. 30 (Fanmio PPV, 9 p.m. ET).

Garcia will face a bigger man in Japanese kickboxing star Rukiya Anpo in a boxing exhibition bout contracted at 153 pounds for eight two-minute rounds, Fanmio and RIZN announced on Monday.

Garcia, who missed weight for the Haney fight, which made him ineligible to win Haney’s WBC 140-pound title, has never weighed more than the 143¼ he weighed for that bout.

Anpo gained boxing notoriety in an exhibition against Manny Pacquiao in July. Although no scores were rendered it was clear that Anpo dominated the faded Pacquiao.

“I’m looking forward to knocking Anpo out for trying to knock out the legend Manny Pacquiao,” Garcia said. “Manny is past his prime and for him to try to knock him out rubbed me the wrong way. I will knock him out and teach him a lesson of respect.”

Garcia is serving a one-year suspension from the date of the Haney fight imposed by the New York State Athletic Commission after he failed multiple drug tests for the banned performance-enhancing drug Ostarine related to his majority decision over Haney, which was changed to a no contest due to the failed tests. Haney is now suing Garcia for battery and fraud over the positive drug tests related to their April 20 fight in Brooklyn, New York.

Last month, Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs), 26, of Los Angeles, a misdemeanor vandalism charge against him dismissed in Los Angeles related to damage he did at a Beverly Hills hotel on June 8. Garcia made restitution for the more than $15,000 in damage he caused.

Anpo became a kickboxing world champion in 2019 and has risen to stardom in Japan.

“I surpass Ryan in size, speed, power, everything,” Anpo said. “If he goes into this match feeling like a party, it’s definitely going to be a beatdown. I’m going to beat the shit out of an arrogant, cocky Ryan and show America who the real bad boy is.”

Jonas-Habazin unification

IBF women’s welterweight titleholder Natasha Jonas and Ivana Habazin, who holds the WBC belt, will meet in a unification fight on Dec. 14 (Peacock in U.S., Sky Sports in U.K.) at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool, Jonas’ hometown, Boxxer announced.

Jonas (15-2-1, 9 KOs), 40, unified three junior middleweight titles and then dropped down in weight and won the vacant IBF welterweight belt in July 2023. In her first defense, she won a narrow split decision over Mikaela Mayer in an action-packed fight in Liverpool in January.

A rematch was close to being made but was not finalized and while Jonas considered retirement, she ultimately made the fight with Habazin.

“I’m excited to be back with another big world title fight at home in Liverpool,” Jonas said. “To get the chance to win another world title and to unify the IBF and WBC is going to be special. Ivana Habazin is a great champion. She has won multiple world titles and fought some of the best in the world. I’m expecting a tough fight but I’m ready to prove that I’m the No. 1 in the division.”

Habazin (23-5, 7 KOs), 35, of Croatia, won the vacant WBC belt in her last fight by unanimous decision against Kinga Magyar in April.

“It will be an honor for me to unify the WBC and IBF titles,” Habazin said. “I previously held the IBF world title and I look forward to winning the belt again. I have a lot of respect for Natasha. She has been a great champion throughout her career. She is one of the outstanding female fighters in the sport today and beating her will give me the recognition that I have long deserved.”

BetUS Boxing Show

If you missed the BetUS Boxing Show live at 1 p.m. ET on Friday on YouTube, please check out the replay (and also subscribe to the YouTube channel) and see how we made out with our picks on the four bouts we handicapped: the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson heavyweight fight and the rematch between undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor and unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano that took place Friday night, and the cruiserweight unification fight between Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez and Chris Billam-Smith and the strawweight unification fight between Oscar Collazo and Thammanoon Niyomtrong on the “Latino Night” card on Saturday. We also took viewer questions and comments and discussed the latest boxing news! Please check out the show here:

Quick hits

Matchroom Boxing is planning an event for Jan. 25 (DAZN) at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas with super middleweight contender Diego Pacheco (22-0, 18 KOs), 23, of Los Angeles, slated to headline against an opponent to be determined, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite. Matchroom Boxing has a request for the date at that venue on the agenda of the Nevada State Athletic Commission meeting on Nov. 20. Fast-rising Lightweight Andy Cruz (4-0, 2 KOs), 29, the 2020 Cuban Olympic gold medalist, is also ticketed for the card, the source said.

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The fight between WBA “regular” heavyweight titlist Mahmoud Charr (34-4, 20 KOs), 40, a Syria native fighting out of Germany, and Kubrat Pulev (30-3, 14 KOs), 43, who will be getting his third shot at a heavyweight belt, scheduled for Dec. 7 in Pulev’s hometown of Sofia, Bulgaria, will stream on DAZN, organizers told Fight Freaks Unite. The bout had been set for March 30 in Sofia, but Charr suffered a torn tendon in his left biceps days before the fight and had surgery that kept him out for months. Charr has not fought since December 2022 and has fought just three times since 2017. He was previously stripped of the secondary belt but reinstated in September 2023 as part of a settlement of a lawsuit against the WBA.

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Mike Tyson isn’t the only nearly 60-year old former heavyweight titleholder back in the ring. Former WBC titlist Oliver McCall (59-14, 38 KOs), 59, of Chicago, who has not had a fight since a KO win in 2019, will face Stacey Frazier (16-22, 15 KOs), 54, of Forest Park, Georgia, in a four-rounder on Tuesday (TrillerTV+) on the “Country Box” card in Nashville. In 1994, McCall was the mandatory challenger when he scored a massive second-round upset knockout of Lennox Lewis in London to win the WBC title. He defended it once by decision over former champion Larry Holmes and then lost it via decision to Frank Bruno in 1995. In a 1997 rematch with Lewis for the vacant WBC belt, McCall lost by fifth-round TKO when he had a mental breakdown. It is his only stoppage loss.

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Longtime heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte (30-3, 20 KOs), 36, of England, will seek a third win in a row since then-champion Tyson Fury knocked him out in the sixth round of their April 2022 championship bout. Whyte is scheduled to face Ebenezer Tetteh (23-1, 20 KOs), 36, of Ghana, in a 10-rounder on Dec. 15 at Europa Point Stadium in Gibraltar. Whyte is coming off a third-round KO of Christian Hammer in March after having been dropped from a rematch with Anthony Joshua in August 2023 due to failed Voluntary Anti-Doping Association random drug test. Tetteh has knocked out four lesser opponents in a row since his only loss in 2019, a first-round KO to Daniel Dubois, who claimed the IBF title earlier this year.

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Famed Mexican trainer and manager Jesus Rivero has died age 95, the WBC announced. Rivero, referred to by many as “The Professor,” for his noted teaching skills of the sweet science, worked with Hall of Famers such as flyweight legend Miguel Canto, junior flyweight champion Humberto “Chiquita” Gonzalez and Oscar De La Hoya. He also trained former junior flyweight titlist Ulises Solis and his brother, Jorge Solis, who was a top featherweight contender.

Show and tell

Manny Pacquiao had won a flyweight world title in Thailand in 1998 and then came to the United States and, on short notice, knocked out Lehlo Ledwaba to win a junior featherweight title in 2001. But his true coming out party, the fight where he first looked like he might become an all-time great, was when he squared off with then-lineal featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Barrera, now a Hall of Famer, was in the midst of a tremendous run, having beaten Naseem Hamed, Erik Morales in their rematch, Johnny Tapia and Kevin Kelley when he faced Pacquiao, but got demolished. Pacquiao dominated the fight and stopped Barrera in the 11th round for the first of many huge victories on his way to legend status. That fight took place on Nov. 15, 2003 — 21 years ago on Friday. Here is a rare site poster from the fight and a very limited HBO poster in my collection.

More show and tell

When Hall of Fame former welterweight champions Felix Trinidad and the late Pernell Whitaker finally met in 1999, Whitaker, the former pound-for-pound king, was at the end of his brilliant career and took a one-sided decision loss to Trinidad, who retained his title. Whitaker would fight just once more while Trinidad would go on to some of his biggest victories. But what would a Whitaker-Trinidad fight have looked like four years earlier? That’s when Main Events, Whitaker’s longtime promoter, won a purse bid for a Trinidad mandatory defense and brought him to HBO for a doubleheader on which both legends faced separate opponents in defenses in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Whitaker knocked out Jake Rodriguez in the sixth round in the headliner and Trinidad easily handled Larry Barnes via fourth-round knockout in the co-feature. Unfortunately, Main Events and Trinidad promoter Don King could not make a deal for the unification showdown both fighters wanted, and when the fight finally took place years later Whitaker was a shell of his once-great self. But the doubleheader they co-starred on took place on Nov. 18, 1995 — 29 years ago on Monday. Here is a beautiful site poster signed by Whitaker and Trinidad in my collection.

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Photos: Paul-Tyson: Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions; Sheeraz: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

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