Jake Paul has said his fight with Mike Tyson will be "the most viewed boxing event of all time" while hitting back at criticism from Conor McGregor. "No fight ever has done these numbers in terms of face-off views, Instagram reels," Jake said. "Just on our main pages alone, it's like 50-60 million Instagram views on both of our posts. Not to mention every single other sports page posting it. That's never happened in the history of the sport, to reach those numbers," Paul said of the pre-fight hype.
Paul's comments were directed at McGregor, who joined the voices stating that there was no interest in the fight. McGregor went as far as to say that people would rather see him fight Tyson. However, Paul did make one concession. As the fight was being streamed on Netflix, and would be free to all Netflix subscribers, there would be no PPV data to compare with previous fights. Instead, Paul and Tyson will have to rely on raw viewership and viewer retention data to make their case.
Michael Chandler Confirms Conor McGregor Bout
Elsewhere, Michael Chandler has confirmed that he will be fighting McGregor this year. "I've got the official announcement. It's happening this summer. I can't tell you the actual date, but it's happening this summer!" Chandler told TMZ. McGregor had previously teased a fight with Chandler for the summer. "I'd like to announce the return date for myself, 'Notorious' Conor McGregor. The greatest comeback of all time will take place in Las Vegas, International Fight Week of June 29. The opponent, Michael Chandler -- and the weight, Mr. Chandler, 185 pounds," McGregor announced in a video on X on New Year's Eve. However, the UFC did not, and has not, confirmed that fight. That may change given Chandler's new announcement.
As mentioned, McGregor is expected to return to the Octagon later this year. Furthermore, McGregor's previously stated 185-pound weight is interesting as it's well beyond the "natural" weight of both fighters. McGregor and Chandler both traditionally fight at 155 lbs. McGregor has previously fought as high as 170 lbs but never at 185 lbs. Additionally, it will be interesting to see how McGregor fares after two years away. His last two fights were convincing losses before he was sidelined with a broken leg.
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