Gareth A. Davies of the Telegraph is one of the great boxing and mixed martial arts journalists of all time and knows Tyson well.
Davies has been around the big fights for many years and has a great insight not just into world championship boxing but also MMA and the UFC.
Boxing is his first thing though and speaking to The Stomping Ground podcast with the dust settled on Paul vs Tyson he said:
“It’s been a busy week with Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, plus Jon Jones, Nightwatch, Bam Smith—watch it all. Let’s dive straight into it. The numbers out of Netflix are monumental—massive gate, massive live viewing figures. Is this a one-off for Netflix, or are there more to come? They’ll definitely do the big ones; there’s no doubt about it. I think I said to you, and I said to others, if they hit 50 million, that’s phenomenal. What they’ve done is extraordinary. And you know, there’s a lot of fallout and aftermath, but it was a very, very successful event. Even though, obviously, the fallout revolves around the age of Mike Tyson and the fact that his body isn’t doing what his mind wants it to anymore, it just proves that if you promote something the right way, it’s marketing genius. And that’s exactly what Jake and Logan Paul, along with Most Valuable Promotions, have done. Nikita Badarian—they’re very clever about what they do.
I was out here all week and had some time with Mike Tyson, which was amazing. It was a monumental moment. In his interviews, he seemed like the mindset of the old Mike was still there. Of course, that didn’t happen in the ring. No, because his body couldn’t respond to what his mind wanted him to do. He was dangerous for that first round, but I think he did well for his age to hang in there against a big, young, strong fighter. Father time or maybe grandfather time waits for no one.
It was lovely to be around Mike. I had some great moments with him. I had a special moment when I asked him if he was bringing the darkness again, and he said, “No, I’m bringing the Devil Himself.” On Tuesday, when I sat with him in an intimate setting with just a couple of other journalists, it was great to be around Mike. He’s a very special human being, and he was the A-plus side of this event—that’s why all those people came. I had colleagues from The Telegraph here saying they’d never taken their phone out to record a walk-in, but that walk-in, even though he had his knee strapped and was wearing the black cape, the trunks, the boots—it was a very special moment. He’s a very dignified human being, and he played his part in it. The aura he brought with him was amazing. Seventy-two thousand people were there—it’s an incredible stadium. As you know, they broke all those records—not just the numbers on Netflix, but also $18 million at the gate, 50 million people watching, and 65 million people tuning in to watch the fight on Netflix.
The fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor was a slobber-knocker. It was a grueling event for both women, and they were amazing. I had Amanda Serrano edging it, but I didn’t agree with the judges. I thought Amanda won by a round or maybe even two, but it was very close. I’m delighted for Katie Taylor as well.
The whole GTH situation was interesting. We decided not to cover it, but back home, I found myself immersed in it. I found myself watching the documentary and really looking forward to seeing how it would unfold. I almost didn’t agree with it in a weird way, but commercially, it was a monster. I was almost a little bit involved in what they put together, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t like seeing Mike fight. There were elements of feeling morally ambiguous about exploiting a 58-year-old Mike Tyson in this way, but he got paid well. I didn’t like him taking the 78 punches he did during the fight. That’s part of why we saw 14-ounce gloves and two-minute rounds, right?
There’s a part of you that doesn’t want to see it, but there’s also a part of you that’s compelled to watch Mike Tyson in action again. That’s what people came for: to see if Mike Tyson could knock out Jake Paul, the ultimate villain, the heel.
As you said, the numbers show how successful it was. The numbers have elevated Jake Paul. I got to speak to both brothers afterward. Mike wasn’t at the post-fight press conferences—he didn’t want to come. He’s done it, he’s played his part. Like you say, sometimes you feel a bit morally ambiguous about it, but I came here for Mike Tyson in many ways. As I told you when we had lunch a couple of weeks ago, it’s huge. And I suppose you might even regret not coming now.
Yeah, you know what? In terms of a spectacle, I did. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to come—I just felt uncertain with Netflix’s access and everything else. But I tell you, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it unfold from home. It was a fantastic event to be part of.
I’m going to move over here because my food just arrived, and the lighting’s not great. Let’s see what I’ve got—brisket and ribs. Okay, here’s my brisket and ribs, and my Caesar salad.
Are you going to show the viewers? There’s my Caesar salad, there’s my laptop, my bags, and… I still want to lose my bag. The lighting is terrible here, but that’s fine. Gareth, we’ll keep it short from this point on. Everyone’s calling out Canelo now, which is a little bit… we’ve got Edgar Banga tweeting, Tony Bellew was here during fight week, Carl Froch… it’s crazy.
I know you’ve talked about this being the Mike Tyson show, but I feel like they almost helped each other hand in hand. Jake Paul seems to have boxing by the balls—people are desperate to fight him.
Before I get into that, let me show you my brisket and ribs. Oh, those ribs! I tell you, that brisket looks bloody lovely. No, it looks amazing. The lady here recommended three main courses—no, it’s half a rack of ribs, four ribs, half a brisket, and a Caesar salad. I haven’t eaten today, brother, and it’s already 2 in the afternoon.
Look, I think that’s TR over there with Frank from Seconds Out in the corner. It’s all going off. Now, going back to your point, boxing is about high promotion. When it works, it works. Jake Paul has elevated himself to a place where it’s going to be quite hard to find opponents. People can talk about it. By the way, William Hill has Canelo Alvarez at 5-4 as his next opponent, and 12-1 for anyone over 70. It’s funny, isn’t it? But I think Jake Paul will probably do an easy fight next. Imagine him fighting Conor McGregor in a boxing match. I’m telling you, that’s going to happen—Conor McGregor and Jake Paul.
Mike Tyson is an A-plus star. I heard Dana White saying this, and he’s spot on. When Mike Tyson’s involved, it brings back memories for three generations of people. But Conor McGregor would bring massive attention to a fight with Jake Paul. It would be a huge event.
As for Carl Froch, what do you think? No, he’s not big enough. There are different levels to this. Carl Froch is a big name in boxing right now, and he’s an amazing world champion, but promotionally, he’s not on the same level as Conor McGregor. Completely different animals.
If Jake Paul fights Conor McGregor, people will tune in to see Jake Paul get knocked out. That’s what it’s all about.
I find myself a little bit immersed in it, to be honest. You know, it’s fun. The boxing purists won’t like it, but it’s fun. You might even get Jon Jones involved. He was incredible on Saturday night. I watched it from the Stockyards—we were out with the cowboys and cowgirls. I went to the rodeo last night at the Coliseum in the Stockyards. Amazing, been going since 1896. Then we went to the equivalent of York, called B-Green. The atmosphere was rip-roaring. It was sick, brother.
Wait, you can’t say “manlike” when it’s a place, right? Oh, sorry about that. I’m not familiar with your lingo. We’ll teach you!
I want to be quick, but there are a few things I want to rattle off before I let you go. Let me enjoy my brisket and ribs.
Can you give us a review before you leave? Let’s rate the chips.
Out of 10, what are you giving the chips? Seven.
Not bad. Now I’ll try a little brisket.
Oh my god, that looks tender. Nine out of 10.
Now the ribs.
Nine out of 10.
All right, man, enjoy your food, brother. Good to see you, Charlie. Safe flight, and I’ll see you in London this week. There’s a press conference for Tommy Fury and Darren Till on Tuesday. That’s going to be fireworks.
Peace out, man. You too”
Always a good take from Davies with balance, research and facts.
As for Tyson, look, he walked away with nearly twenty million bucks, healthy, with all his facilities intact, no harm done. No worries.
As for Netflix, they will back with better main events too in boxing after the success of the undercard.
Their next event they will be ready for how big numbers boxing does too as well and all the new subscribers that boxing brought the company last Friday.
