HOLLYWOOD, FL – APRIL 3: Mike Tyson (Photo by Ivan Apfel/Getty Images)
Mike Tyson has a lot of fame. He exaggerated his latest story, but not as much as might be expected.
Tyson was critical of his upcoming fight with Jake Paul in an interview with Reuters that went viral on social media on Wednesday, calling his detractors “jealous.”
The bout, which pits the 58-year-old legend against the 27-year-old boxer turned social media star on Netflix on July 20 in Arlington, Texas, has been met with widespread criticism.
Many claim to be concerned about Tyson’s suitability at his age and against a fighter 31 years his junior. In the interview, Tyson asked if the doubters were “concerned or jealous.”
“I’m 58 years old, what?” Tyson said. “Just talking about fighting with someone will get you billions of views.”
Billions of views feels like the most grandiose example of a 2024 ceiling, but a closer look at Tyson’s social media profiles reveals that this number may be just a mild exaggeration. It is suggested that this is a viable prediction of where Tyson will be by the time the fight begins.
Specifically, we consulted strategists at social media listening company ListenFirst.
Iron Mike is on pace to exceed the number of views he said in an interview with Reuters.
The matchup was announced on March 7th.
Since the announcement, Tyson has posted about his fight with Paul on his TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Xand YouTube channel.
According to ListenFirst, Tyson’s TikTok posts (5) were the most influential, garnering 20 million engagements. His Instagram posts (6) received the most views, with 309.9 million views, accounting for his 46% of the total in that category.
This total includes Tyson’s most viewed posts. The reel, which has garnered 112 million views, showcases a fighter jet’s “day 4” training.
Tyson’s post received 38.4 million posts engagement It has been viewed 670.6 million times.
Yes, that’s about 330 million short of a billion, but there are about 14 weeks until Tyson and Paul clash in Texas.
In 27 days of hype, Tyson racked up 670 million views.
This equates to an average of approximately 25 million views per day. At this rate, Tyson will accumulate 2.4 billion views, on top of the 670 million he already has.
Call it whatever you like. But as former UFC champion and Paul’s opponent, Tyron Woodley, told me, this fight looks like it could be a draw for a lot of money.
