One of the most important moments of the crossover-boxing scene was when YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul clashed with Fury clan’s Tommy Fury on February 26 at Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. The fight had been on the anvil since 2021. Finally, it ended with Tommy Fury’s victory, and the event is termed successful in the history of boxing’s latest genre. But what were the business actuals? Nearly a month later, answers to questions on the overall revenue, especially the PPV purchases, remain elusive. So finally, the most feasible alternative was an in-house response to quell the naysayers’ skepticism.
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury were to first meet in December of 2021. However, a chest infection and rib injury prevented the inaugural clash, much to the American Paul’s chagrin. The second meeting scheduled in August last year failed to materialize because of Fury’s US visitation issues. Nevertheless, amidst claims and counter-claims of backing out, the groundwork for an eventual rendezvous in 2023 finally bore fruit.
The bout in Diriyah Arena didn’t prove a dud, much to the delight of fans and followers. After eight exciting rounds, Fury emerged the winner through a split decision.
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MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian comments on Paul vs Fury PPV buys
In one of the episodes of his podcast BS w/ Jake Paul, ‘The Problem Child’, apart from claims on receiving a $30 million paycheck, mentioned that overall PPV subscriptions would have crossed the half-a-million mark.
However, in Wrestling Observer Newsletter, well-known mixed martial arts journalist Dave Meltzer seemed a bit more skeptical and conservative on the number. As per MMANews, the PPV sales wouldn’t have gone beyond 200k.
Happy Punch Promotions, launched by Daniel ‘Keemstar’ Keem and Yousef ‘Fauci’ Erakat in 2021, through its Twitter handle @HappyPunchPromo shared a message today early morning, “Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury surpassed more than 800,000 PPV buys globally, according to MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian.“
Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury surpassed more than 800,000 PPV buys globally, according to MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian pic.twitter.com/lWsVZHtx59
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunchPromo) March 21, 2023
A few hours later, a statement from Nakisa Bidarian followed.
Statement from Bidarian: pic.twitter.com/t82UIQykUL
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunchPromo) March 22, 2023
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It is safe to say that talks of earlier claims on the match’s PPVs being fake must have irked Bidarian. While letting everyone know that losing two opportunities to fight proved costly to the promotions, the clash in Saudi Arabia was historic and far-reaching by all means, “It was big, and it was global,” he said. He says discussing which potential contest between Jake Paul and his opponent might generate more PPVs is entertaining. But still, nobody could predict which battle had better PPV sales until actual numbers came out.
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Lest it’s forgotten, roughly 4.2 million people reportedly looked for Paul vs Fury on Google. It must have peaked over the days, thus, settling the debate on Jake Paul’s ever-increasing popularity. Do you agree with Nakisa Bidarian? Do share your views and opinions with us in the comments below.
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