Jake Paul Responds to Critics Over Record Netflix Boxing Viewership

Jake Paul continues to face criticism over his boxing career, but the social media star turned professional boxer believes the conversation should focus on the audience he has helped bring to the sport.

Speaking in a recent interview with Front Office Sports, Paul argued that his fight against Mike Tyson marked a major milestone for boxing by introducing the sport to a massive global streaming audience through Netflix.

Paul claimed that the November 2024 fight with Mike Tyson delivered numbers that may never be matched on the platform.

“I brought boxing and combat sports to Netflix and had the most-viewed sporting event streamed ever,” Paul said. “And I don’t think it’ll ever be broken.”

Instagram | @bleacherreport | Jake Paul counters critics by crediting his Netflix fight against Mike Tyson with popularizing boxing globally.

According to Netflix, the event attracted an average minute audience of 108 million viewers worldwide. The broadcast also reached a peak of 65 million concurrent streams and around 60 million household viewers. In the United States alone, Netflix reported 38 million concurrent streams during the event.

However, those figures came with an important detail. Unlike television ratings for most major sporting events in the U.S., the global audience numbers were not independently verified by an established ratings company such as Nielsen. Netflix stated that its U.S. audience estimates were compiled with support from advertising technology company TVision.

Paul Responds to Critics

Much of the criticism surrounding the event focused on Tyson competing at the age of 58. Paul acknowledged those opinions but suggested that the event’s reach deserves equal attention.

“You can say, ‘He fought an old guy, beat up Mike Tyson, how dare he,’ or you can say I brought boxing and combat sports to Netflix,” Paul said. “So there’s two ways to look at the coin. And it’s easier to be a hater. I’d probably hate me too.”

Paul has remained active on Netflix since that event, although none of the later broadcasts have reached the same reported audience.

His December 2025 fight against former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua ended in a knockout loss for Paul. Even so, Netflix reported that the event drew 33 million viewers globally. The fight also became the platform’s No. 1 program in 45 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, Mexico, and Argentina.

MVP Expands on Netflix

Paul’s promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), has also increased its presence on Netflix. The company’s first MMA event, held in May and headlined by a Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano matchup, averaged 12.4 million viewers worldwide and 9.3 million viewers in the United States, according to MVP and Netflix.

Instagram | @jakepaul | Jake Paul continues to expand his boxing career as supporters praise his reach while critics question his influence on the sport.

MVP CEO Nakisa Bidarian described the numbers as a positive result, especially in a sport where the UFC has long dominated audience attention.

“Any time anyone’s tried to replicate viewership for the NFL or the NBA or any major sport, you never see someone be able to achieve anything close to the viewership of that larger endemic brand,” Bidarian said. “And we did that with Netflix, MVP, and the fighters involved.”

Netflix also became the exclusive home of MLB’s Home Run Derby for the first time this year. The event averaged 5.3 million U.S. viewers, which represented a 7.5% decline compared to the previous year when ESPN carried the broadcast.

What Lies Ahead

MVP plans to stage more MMA events on Netflix while continuing to promote boxing cards on the streaming platform. The company also maintains a separate agreement with ESPN for women’s boxing events.

Paul, meanwhile, made it clear that changing public opinion is not a priority.

“They can choose what side they want to be on,” he said. “They can jump on the train because it’s not going to stop moving, or they can talk shit.”

The debate surrounding Jake Paul’s influence in boxing is likely to continue. Even so, the audience figures associated with his Netflix events have become a significant part of the discussion, placing streaming performance alongside in-ring results when measuring his impact on combat sports.