Doubtful of Jake Paul’s $80 Million Empire, Dana White Blames ‘The Problem Child’ for Showtime Boxing’s Downfall

Are Jake Paul’s PPV buy claims exaggerated? Remember, when he claimed that his fight against Tommy Fury had over 500k PPV buys? There weren’t many reputed media houses or reporters verifying the claim! But, there weren’t many denying it either. But, there is one person who is not willing to buy any of the numbers quoted by the ‘Problem Child”. In comes, long-time foe, UFC head honcho, Dana White with a counterclaim – if he was good enough, why didn’t Showtime Boxing keep him? Most importantly, why did it go out of business in 2023? It must be pointed out that Jake Paul signed a deal with Showtime Sports in 2021 for multiple fights after previously fighting under the Triller Fight Club banner for his first three fights after turning professional in 2020. Reportedly, the association ended after two back-to-back fights with UFC veteran Tyron Woodley in the same year.

Does begs the question, is he really worth what he is saying? Celebrity net worth considers his valuation to be around $80 million. In his interview with Shannon Sharpe, White cast aspersions on the Social media sensation’s hype, thereby provoking broader questions about Jake Paul’s financial empire.

Was Jake Paul Showtime’s costly gamble?

When Shannon Sharpe probed Dana White about Jake Paul’s credibility in combat sports, White answered, “Yeah, the kid’s out there, he is doing his thing, he is making money.”

Sharpe further queried, “Is he making real money D or is he making…” As soon as he could finish his sentence, White cut him off to say, “I don’t know what he is really making. I believe if he was making the money he says he is making, Showtime Boxing wouldn’t have gone out of business.”

Before signing Jake Paul, Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza had told MMA Fighting, “The Paul’s certainly have a huge fan base…These were guys who had clearly spent time in the gym and had some skills. It’s not at the level of a Showtime Championship Boxing, but they were not bad. They had basic skills. They definitely worked hard and it was entertaining. Again, one is apples, one is oranges”

However, Showtime decided to drop Jake Paul from their roster of fighters in less than a year. Ariel Helwani, an MMA reporter, took to his show in 2022 to report that his “two-fight deal” with Showtime had come to an end. There are reports swirling around the internet that his back-to-back fights against Woodley didn’t do well in terms of PPV sales. Was that one of the reasons why Showtime decided to part ways with him? Well, Dana White thinks so! “Showtime would have made sure they kept paying him,” Dana said, but it didn’t.

Fast-forward to 2024, Showtime Boxing had to wind down its operations after putting on memorable fights for 37 years. Frankly, it would be a huge leap to consider Jake Paul as the sole reason for Showtime’s downfall, considering it showcased events featuring an impressive stable of fighters like Canelo Alvarez, former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, the Charlo twins, Errol Spence and David Benavidez owing to a deal with Al Haymon’s PBC. But still, it wasn’t financially lucrative enough to save the broadcasting juggernaut’s boxing department.

Nevertheless, the ‘Problem Child’ has now inked a deal with streaming giant Netflix to broadcast his fight with the heavyweight legend Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But what does Dana White think about that bout?

Dana White wears the skeptic’s hat…

Talking about Jake Paul going up against 58-year-old Mike Tyson, White said, “Jake fought a guy who was his age and was also considered a boxer and he lost… Mike is 58 years old, you know what I mean? I hate doing this because Mike gets mad at me every time I do this: Mike shouldn’t be fighting.”

Paul’s only loss came against 25-year-old Tommy Fury, who was the only boxer he fought close to his age range. The majority of his fights were against UFC veterans like Anderson Silva or Tyron Woodley or relatively retired boxers like Ryan Bourland or Andre August. White concluded this thread of conversation with a challenge, “Fight guys that box for a living, and guys that are your age! How about that?”

However, White did give a puncher’s chance to Tyson. But the 31+ age difference between the two fighters is too big of a mismatch for White. Do you agree with Dana’s opinion? Do you think Tyson should have taken the fight against Jake Paul? Let us know in the comment section below.