Forget LeBron James and Stephen Curry, the hottest name in basketball right now is Caitlin Clark. The trash-talking, and crowd-charming Iowa guard is being touted as one of the greatest basketball players in college history. So, being the expert marketer Jake Paul is, he didn’t miss the opportunity to hype his fight against Mike Tyson using Clark’s momentum.
Paul will enter the ring against Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, home to the Dallas Cowboys. The Netflix exclusive bout would be Paul’s biggest money printer yet, so he is pulling all the stops to make the fight as big as possible. In his latest attempt to promote the fight, Paul turned to social media, highlighting his and Tyson’s feature in the Sports Business Journal alongside Clark.
Will basketball fans watch Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Turning to his Instagram story, Paul shared a snap from the Sports Business Journal, showcasing his and Mike’s fight poster featuring just beside a piece on Caitlin Clark. Paul captioned the picture, “SBJ with @caitlinclark.” The Iowa Hawkeyes and LSU Tigers match on April 2 seem to have established Clark as the hottest name in the sport.
JAKE PAUL VS. MIKE TYSON
LIVE on Netflix #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/WW6Wi3bKM9
— Netflix (@netflix) March 7, 2024
According to a report from BBC, the match headlining Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese became the most-watched college basketball game ever, women’s or men’s. From the crowd in the Sports Bra in Portland, Oregon to celebrities like Lebron James and Travis Scott tuned in to watch the college basketball match part of the March Madness.
While Paul tries to use Clark’s hype train in basketball to promote his fight, someone from Clarks’ world has raised an important point about the fight.
NBA legend thinks the fight might be scripted
Retired NBA All-Star Paul Pierce has been a long time boxing fan, so he saw it fit to weigh in on Paul’s rise to fame in the sport while expressing his views on the fight. On 9 March, Pierce appeared in ‘The Truth Lounge’ series to allege that the upcoming fight could be scripted. “Sports used to be unscripted. So now I’m like, it’s starting to look like everything is scripted now,” said Pierce.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
He even compared the fight to a wrestling event, stating, “This event right here is definitely gonna be scripted. They [are going to] talk about what they [are going to] do, and they [are going to] be trained to deliver, just like wrestling.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
With that said, Jake Paul doesn’t seem to be slowing down in his quest to make his upcoming fight the biggest it can get. However, critics such as Paul Pierce continue to voice their harsh opinion about the fight. What did you think of Paul’s latest promotional tactic? Where do you stand on Tyson fighting at the age of 58?
Read More: Jake Paul Hits Back at Critics Doubting He’d Win Against Mike Tyson In Startling Revelation