The postponed July Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match will now take place in November. 

The Netflix-streamed fight will now take place on November 15, nearly four months after the original July 20 date was postponed due to Tyson suffering an ucler flareup, according to boxing promotion company Most Valuable Promotions.

“Our team has worked diligently with all parties involved to reschedule this monumental fight to a date that ensures both Jake Paul and Mike Tyson are fully prepared, with equal training time, as well as allowing us to keep the event at AT&T Stadium in the midst of the Cowboys season,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement. 

The November 15 event will also feature the rematch between women's super lightweight champion Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.

The 57-year-old Tyson had an ulcer flare-up on May 26 during a flight to Los Angeles. The sanctioned fight against the 27-year-old Paul will be Tyson’s first since 2005.

Tyson said in a statement: “Although we had to postpone the fight, I will resume training shortly. I am thankful to the medical staff that treated me and to MVP, Netflix, and AT&T Stadium for working diligently to find the best reschedule date for all parties.”

Netflix’s highly anticipated Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match on June 20 in Arlington, Texas, has been postponed less than a week after Tyson suffered a medical incident on an airplane.

The fight was postponed after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up on May 26 during a flight to Los Angeles and will be rescheduled for a date to be announced by June 7, according to the event’s promoter, Most Valuable Promotions. The sanctioned fight would have been the 57-year-old Tyson’s first since 2005. 

“The upcoming highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will unfortunately be postponed,” MVP said in a statement. “During a follow-up consultation on Thursday with medical professionals on his recent ulcer flare-up, the recommendation is for Mike Tyson to do minimal to light training over the next few weeks and then return to full training with no limitations."

The fighters were expected to box eight 2-minute rounds — in traditional pro fights, rounds are usually 3 minutes — and the boxers’ gloves would have weighed 14 ounces instead of the standard 10 ounces.

The fight would have been Netflix’s first foray into boxing and the latest in a number of live sports events distributed by the streaming service. Last November, Netflix distributed the Netflix Cup golf tournament pitting Formula 1 drivers against professional golfers, as well as the March 3 Netflix Slam tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. 

Netflix last month also struck a three-year deal to stream a pair of National Football League games on Christmas Day. 

Below is the full press release from Most Valuable Promotions: 

The upcoming highly anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will unfortunately be postponed. During a follow-up consultation on Thursday with medical professionals on his recent ulcer flare-up, the recommendation is for Mike Tyson to do minimal to light training over the next few weeks and then return to full training with no limitations.

Both Mike and Jake are in agreement that it is only fair to ensure that both athletes have equal training time to prepare for this important match and are able to compete at the highest level. The health and well-being of athletes is our top priority, and we fully support Mike in taking the necessary time to allow him to perform at the level he expects of himself.

Mike is expected to return to his full training schedule in the coming weeks and is eager to get back in the ring. MVP anticipates rescheduling the match to later this year at AT&T Stadium, and we look forward to an exciting and well-prepared contest between these two exceptional athletes. The new date of the fight will be announced by next Friday, June 7th. 

“I want to thank my fans around the world for their support and understanding during this time. Unfortunately, due to my ulcer flareup, I have been advised by my doctor to lighten my training for a few weeks to rest and recover,” said Mike Tyson. “My body is in better overall shape than it has been since the 1990s and I will be back to my full training schedule soon. Jake Paul, this may have bought you some time, but in the end you will still be knocked out and out of boxing for good. I appreciate everyone’s patience and can't wait to deliver an unforgettable performance later this year.”

“I fully support postponing the event so Mike Tyson has no excuses come fight night,” said Jake Paul. “My fans know I don’t want to face Iron Mike at anything but his best, but let there be no mistake — when he steps into the ring with me, I will be ready to claim my W with a sensational finish. Paul vs Tyson will be one for the ages, and I promise to bring my best for this once-in-a-lifetime matchup.”

Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions has set May press conferences for its July 20 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight, a day after the event was sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations as an official professional fight. 

The Netflix-distributed fight, pitting the 57 year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) against the 27 year-old YouTube star Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) will count against both fighter’s records, according to fight promoter Most Valuable Promotions. The company said will hold press conferences for the fight in New York on May 16 and in Arlington, Texas on May 16. 

The fighters will box eight, 2-minute rounds – traditional pro fights are usually 3 minutes – and the boxer’s gloves will weight 14 ounces instead of standard 10 ounces, according to reports. 

Tyson hasn’t fought in a sanctioned professional fight since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005. Tyson also fought an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, which drew a reported 1.6 million PPV buys.

Netflix will stream live the Paul-Tyson fight to its subscribers without any additional cost. It's the latest move by the streaming service into the live sports streaming arena, following its distribution last November of the Netflix Cup golf tournament pitting Formula 1 drivers against professional golfers, as well as the March 3 Netflix Slam tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

Netflix will continue its march into live sports streaming by stepping into the boxing ring with the distribution of the July 20 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match.

The fight, promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, will take place in Dallas and pits YouTube star and budding pro boxer Paul against the retired 57-year-old former heavyweight and pay-per-view boxing champion Tyson. It is unclear whether the fight will be considered an exhibition or a professional fight.

Tyson’s last professional fight was a loss to Kevin McBride in 2005. Tyson also fought an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, which drew a reported 1.6 million PPV buys.

Paul has fought 10 times with only one loss, with wins against UFC stars Nat Diaz and Anderson Silva. His last bout was a knockout win over Ryan Bourland earlier this month.  

Netflix will stream live the Paul-Tyson fight to its subscribers without any additional cost. It's the latest move by the streaming service into the live sports streaming arena, following its distribution last November of the Netflix Cup golf tournament pitting Formula 1 drivers against professional golfers, as well as the March 3 Netflix Slam tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. 

“Mike Tyson is one of the biggest icons in boxing history and Jake Paul is one of the biggest disruptors in boxing history,” Netflix VP, nonfiction sports Gabe Spitzer said in a statement. “Saturday, July 20 will be pure drama in the ring in Texas. We are thrilled to partner with Most Valuable Promotions for this historic event, and we can’t wait for these two to face off for fans all across the world on Netflix.” 

The schedule of live sports events for the first weekend of August begins on the soccer field as the FIFA Women’s World Cup enters its round of 16.

The US Soccer Team will continue its quest for a three-peat in the tournament Sunday morning when it faces Sweden on Fox. On Saturday, Fox will televise the Netherlands-South Africa match while FS1 airs the Switzerland-Spain and Japan-Norway games. 

In the ring, DAZN Saturday night will distribute a pay-per-view boxing match between YouTube star Jake Paul and former UFC champion Nate Diaz. In the octagon, ESPN will air a UFC Fight Night contest between Cory Sandhagen and Rob Font.

Also: Spence-Crawford PPV Fight Packs Major Performance Punch

On the racetrack track NBC on Saturday will air the NASCAR Xfinity Series Cabo Wabo 250 race, while on Sunday the network will telecast the IndyCar Music City Grand Prix event. USA will air a pair of races Sunday including the IMSA SportsCar Weekend and the NASCAR Cup FireKeepers Casino 400.

On the baseball field, Peacock on Sunday will stream the Chicago White Sox-Cleveland Indians game, while ESPN will televise the Los Angeles Dodgers-San Diego Padres matchup as part of its Sunday Night Baseball telecast. 

On the court, ABC on Sunday will air the Las Vegas Aces-New York Liberty game, while CBS on Saturday will provide week seven coverage of the Big3 basketball league.

DAZN PPV will distribute YouTube star Jake Paul’s next foray into the boxing ring against former UFC and mixed martial arts champion Nate Diaz in an August 5 pay-per-view boxing event.

Paul, who most recently suffered a split decision loss to Tommy Fury this past February, will look to rebound against Diaz, who is making his boxing debut after a decorated combat sports career. 

“We are incredibly excited to have this mega fight on DAZN around the world,” DAZN North America CEO Joe Markowski said in a statement. “One of the biggest names in boxing meeting one of the biggest names in MMA makes for a truly unique matchup on a global scale.”

The event is the latest in a busy PPV boxing schedule that has already featured three PPV boxing events in the first quarter of 2023. Also, Showtime has an April 22 PPV bout scheduled between undefeated fighters Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia. 

In addition, a much-anticipated bout between welterweight championship unification fight between Terence Crawford and Errol Spence is slated for June, according to published reports. 

The on- again, off-again fight between YouTube star Jake Paul and Tommy Fury is back on and will take place February 26 in Saudi Arabia on ESPN Pay-Per-View, the network said.

The undefeated Paul, who last fought this past October against retired UFC champion Anderson Silva, and Fury – the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – were supposed to fight in December 2021, but the fight was postponed due to a Fury medical issue. The event marks the first time ESPN will distribute a Paul PPV boxing event, after Showtime distributed Paul’s previous PPV events.

The Paul-Fury fight will retail at $49.99, according to ESPN. 

The Paul-Fury fight is the second PPV boxing event announced for February. Former welterweight champion Adrian Broner is scheduled to fight Michael Williams Jr. on a February 25 PPV fight card promoted by BLK Prime and distributed by Integrated Sports Media.■

Showtime’s August 6 Jake Paul-Hasim Rahman Jr. pay-per-view boxing card has been canceled over a contract dispute regarding Rahman’s weight, Paul's promotion company Most Valuable Promotions said.

The fight card, which also featured women’s boxing champion Amanda Serrano, was canceled after Rahman -- the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman --  weighed 215 pounds during a pre-fight weigh-in this past Friday, which would have made it difficult for Rahman to safely meet a contractual agreement setting Rahman’s weight at 200 pounds for the event, according to an MVP statement. Rahman’s camp said the fighter would not step in the ring under 215 pounds which violated the contract, even after Paul said he would compromise and fight at 205 pounds, according to MVP.

“MVP is left with no choice but to cancel the August 6th event,” said MVP. “This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event.” 

The fight was set to kick off a busy schedule of PPV boxing events, including a Fox Sports-distributed September 4 Andy Ruiz-Luis Ortiz heavyweight fight and a September 17 Canelo Alverez-Gennady Golovkin bout distributed by DAZN PPV. ■

The pay-per-view boxing schedule for the second half of 2022 is starting to take shape with a number of high-profile fights set and one blockbuster bout in the wings. 

DAZN on Saturday (July 16) will kick off the schedule with a lightweight fight involving contenders Ryan Garcia and Javier Fortuna. Consumers purchasing the $34.99 fight via ppv.com will receive a free month of DAZN, according to the online PPV distributor. 

Showtime will showcase YouTube star Jake Paul as he continues his boxing career in an August 6 PPV fight against Hasim Rahman Jr., the son of former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. Paul’s last PPV bout was a December 18 knockout of Tyron Woodley in a rematch of their August 2021 PPV event. 

The event will also feature a women’s championship fight between featherweight titleholder Amanda Serrano and Brenda Carbaja.

“Jake clearly moves the needle like no one else, and we at Showtime are proud to be in business with him and he’s clearly bringing the sport to a new audience,” Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza said. “The same can be said of Amanda Serrano, who inspires multitudes of young girls every time she fights. We’re proud of our history with women’s boxing and proud to have Amanda back for a fifth time.”

Arguably the biggest fight scheduled so far is the September 17 Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin trilogy fight, which pits two of the PPV industry’s biggest draws against each other. The first two Alvarez-Golovkin fights in 2017 and 2018 generated a combined 2.4 million PPV buys, according to industry sources. 

Also in September, Fox Sports will offer a Labor Day weekend PPV fight card with a main event bout matching up heavyweight title contenders Andy Ruiz Jr. and Luis Ortiz.

On the horizon is a potentially lucrative PPV welterweight unification bout between Terrence Crawford and Errol Spence. Industry sources say Showtime is in negotiations to bring the fight to pay-per-view this fall, although a deal has yet to be reached. ▪️

The TV sports listings for the weekend before Christmas starts on the football field as NFL Network televises a Saturday evening game with playoff implications as the New England Patriots face off against the Indianapolis Colts.

The Las Vegas Raiders-Cleveland Browns game scheduled for Saturday has been moved to Monday due to a significant amount of COVID-19 infections among Browns players, according to the NFL. An increase in COVID-19 infections among league players has also forced the move of Sunday's The Washington Football Team-Philadelphia Eagles game and the Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams contest to Tuesday, according to the league.

On Sunday night, Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the New Orleans Saints in NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast. 

College football bowl season begins in earnest this weekend as the first of more than 40 bowl games launch on Saturday. ESPN will televise the Boca Raton Bowl (Western Kentucky-Appalachian St.),  New Mexico Bowl (UTEP-Fresno State), Lending Tree Bowl (E. Michigan-Liberty) and New Orleans Bowl (Louisiana-Marshall.) ABC will air the Independence Bowl (UAB-BYU) and LA Bowl (Utah State-Oregon St.)

Several NCAA top ten-rated college basketball teams will also be in action this week. On Saturday top-ranked Baylor travels to play Oregon on ESPN2, while third-ranked Purdue will face Butler on Fox. Fifth-ranked Gonzaga will take on 25th-ranked Texas Tech on CBS and sixth-ranked Alabama meets JSU on the SEC Network. 

In the ring, Showtime will distribute a pay-per-view boxing match between YouTube star Jake Paul and former MMA fighter Tyron Woodley. The fight is a rematch of their August 2021 PPV fight won by Paul via a split decision.  

Showtime’s Dec. 18 pay-per-view boxing card will now feature a Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley rematch fight. 

The network announced Monday that Woodley is replacing Tommy Fury -- who withdrew from the event due to a “medical issue” -- as the opponent for YouTube star Paul in the main event of the PPV fight card. Woodley and Paul fought on an Aug. 29 Showtime PPV event in August, with Paul generating a split decision win over the former MMA fighter. 

The first Paul-Woodley PPV event generated a reported 500,000 PPV buys.

The fight is the second PPV boxing event for Showtime in December, following its  Dec. 5 Gervonta Davis-Issac Cruz bout in which Davis retained his lightweight championship with a close but unanimous decision.■  

Showtime will finish 2021 with a fury as it distributes a Dec. 18 pay-per-view boxing card featuring social media sensation Jake Paul and British reality star Tommy Fury. 

The sanctioned, eight-round cruiserweight fight will be the undefeated Paul’s fifth professional fight overall and second PPV fight on Showtime this year, after his Aug. 29 bout against former mixed martial arts champion Tyron Woodley. Fury, the star of the British dating game show Love Island, is the brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. 

The fight also marks Showtime’s third scheduled PPV fight over the next two months, which also includes the Nov. 6 Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant super middleweight fight and the Dec. 5 Gervonta Davis-Rolando Romero lightweight bout.

Showtime Sunday (Aug. 29) will distribute its second pay-per-view boxing event featuring YouTube stars Jake and Logan Paul, when Jake Paul steps into the ring with former mixed martial arts champion Tyron Woodley. 

The fight comes on the heels of Showtime's June 6 PPV event pitting Logan Paul against retired former boxing champion Floyd Mayweather. Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza spoke to me about Showtime's decision to distribute the event as well as his thoughts on how well the event will perform in an edited version of the interview. 

Picture This: Are you defining the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley fight as an exhibition fight or a true professional boxing match?

Stephen Espinoza: Paul versus Woodley is a sanctioned professional, fully competitive fight. We're describing it is part of a different genre. Obviously it's slightly different from the championship level boxing that Showtime's been known for for the last 35 years, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be doing it. This is something which is obviously generating a large amount of attention, and we’re featuring fully competitive bouts. Jake has shown himself to be pretty skilled for someone at his level of interest, so we see this as part of the broader mission to  expand the entire breadth of the combat sports world.

PT: Are you concerned that by expanding the combat sports world you might be alienating the traditional boxing fan that has supported the pay-per-view boxing industry over the years? 

SE: To be honest I understand the traditionalists and the boxing purists who may not view this as their cup of tea, and that's fine. I think the reason that isn't problematic is because we're certain that this can live side by side with what our core business has been for the past 35 years. So just in the same way that Mayweather versus Logan didn't take away any resources or any budget for our championship level boxing, the same is true for Jake Paul.  We've had an incredibly busy and strong schedule -- I'd say the strongest of any platform in professional boxing -- and so we're able to simultaneously do a sort of non-traditional type of event as well. So again, we are very confident that the two can live side by side with each other. If people are interested in these types of events, then the opportunity is there to watch them.  If they're not and they'd prefer to stick with the traditional box events, then we have plenty of those as well.

Also Read: Showtime Hoping to Expand Boxing Fan Base with a Pair of Paul Fights

PT: You mentioned the Mayweather-Paul fight. Do you know how many PPV buys that fight generated? 

SE: It’s right at a million -- within 10,000 to 20,000 [buys] either way -- but buys are still trickling in. 

PT: Can this fight perform in that neighborhood without the attraction of a former boxing champion like Mayweather? 

SE: We’d be thrilled if it approached those numbers, but it's tough to compare anything to Floyd Mayweather. Floyd is a singular personality and one of the most compelling combat sports figures of his generation. There hasn't been anybody like him before, and it’ll probably be a long time before there's someone like him, so I hesitate to make any comparisons. What we've seen from Jake's first three events is that he is very capable of driving business, particularly on his last event against [Ben Askren] where he was the main event of a pay-per-view headliner that did healthy mid six-figure [buy] numbers. We're confident that we can generate at least that going forward with this event. 

 PT: Is Showtime looking at any other PPV events for the rest of the year? 

IE: I think we were looking at at least one more pay-per-view event before the end of the year, and possibly two. Jake would very much like to do one more fight before the end of the year, and we're also anticipating another pay-per-view event with Gervonta Davis, whose last fight at the end of June was a very successful pay-per-view event for us. We also have our typically busy Showtime championship schedule which includes big events throughout the third and fourth quarter.

This weekend’s list of live TV sports events starts on the baseball field with ABC's Saturday coverage of the Little League World Series semifinals between Ohio and South Dakota and Michigan and Hawaii. ESPN on Sunday will air the World Series Championship as well as the third place game.

ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball telecast will feature the New York Yankees against the Oakland A's.

In other sports, NBC and NBCSN will offer weekend coverage of the Paralympics events from Tokyo. NBC will also team with Golf Channel to offer weekend coverage of the PGA BMW Championship golf event. 

The 2021 college football season kicks off with several contests on Saturday, highlighted by the Nebraska-Illinois afternoon game on Fox. ESPN will televise the Hawaii-UCLA game while CBSSN offers coverage of the UConn-Fresno State contest.

NBC on Saturday will televise the NASCAR Cup Coke Zero Sugar 400 auto race, while ESPN on Sunday will televise the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix event. 

On the soccer field NBC and CNBC will offer live Saturday Premier League soccer game telecasts, while NBCSN will feature Saturday and Sunday morning league games. Fox will lead the weekend's MLS coverage with the LA Galaxy-LAFC contest, with FS1 and ESPN offering Sunday morning league coverage.

The NFL pre-season ends this weekend with several Sunday national broadcast TV airings including CBS' Miami-Cincinnati game and NBC's Cleveland-Atlanta contest.

Showtime on Sunday will distribute a pay-per-view boxing match between YouTube sensation Jake Paul and former mixed martial arts world champion Tyron Woodley. On Saturday, ESPN will televise a live UFC Fight Night card featuring the Edson Barboza-Giga Chikadze featherweight main event fight. 

In a major upset, welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas defeated boxing icon Manny Pacquiao by unanimous decision Saturday night in what could be the eight-division world champion’s final bout. 

In the PPV boxing event, Ugas -- who took the fight against Pacquiao on two weeks notice after Pacquiao’s original opponent, Errol Spence Jr., pulled out of the fight with an eye injury -- was able to use his height and stinging jab to keep Pacquiao from landing effective punches. All three judges gave the fight to Ugas, who retained his WBA “super” welterweight championship. The fight was the first for the 42-year old Pacquiao since defeating Keith Thurman in 2019. 

After the fight, Pacquiao, who is the PPV industry’s second biggest revenue generator behind Floyd Mayweather Jr., was noncommittal when asked if he would fight again. Pacquiao did say he would make a decision in September as to whether he would run for President in his home country of the Philippines next May.

The Fox Sports-distributed fight was the first of two rare late August PPV boxing events. Showtime will distribute an Aug. 29 exhibition fight featuring YouTube star Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley.

Showtime is hoping for big pay-per-view numbers for its June 6 Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition fight as it looks to draw both Mayweather’s traditional boxing fans and Paul’s social media followers. The network in August will again look to tap into the Paul social media mystique as the network distributes Jake Paul’s Aug. 28 boxing match against UFC fighter Tyron Woodley.

Showtime Sports President Stephen Espinoza spoke to me on the eve of the Mayweather-Paul fight about the network’s decision to distribute boxing matches featuring the Paul brothers. Espinoza also talks about the potential PPV performance of the events as well as potential backlash from boxing purists revolving around the network’s association with non-traditional boxing events. An edited version of the interview appears below.

Picture This: What attracted Showtime to the Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition fight? 

Stephen Espinoza: The Logan Paul-Floyd Mayweather event was sort of a no brainer for us, given our history and track record of success with Floyd Mayweather. He's the one who came up with the concept, made the arrangements, and then brought the fight to us. That was a relatively easy decision. In the grand scheme of things, I don't think that we want to be in the position of turning our nose up at what could be a new trend in the sport. I certainly think it's important for our credibility that we be honest about what this is -- it isn’t a championship level, elite boxing competition. This is a spectacle and an event featuring a retired Floyd Mayweather coming out of retirement to do an exhibition. It’s about fun and about something unexpected. It’s a different flavor of combat sports than we’ve done before, but it certainly is something that has attracted more than its fair share of interest from the audience.

PT: Does the event have a chance of hitting the industry’s gold standard of 1 million PPV buys?

SE: I certainly think this has the potential. There aren’t many personalities in the world with the following that Logan Paul has. When you're talking about the pay per view business, the ability to bring a built in audience to the table is really an attractive factor in the whole mix. I think it’s really the combination of a few things: the chance to see perhaps the greatest living boxer back into the ring and performing at some level again; the intrigue of seeing how  a younger, bigger, stronger, opponent would do against a Mayweather who's been retired for almost five years; and just the melding of two worlds and two huge fan bases from very different demographics. I don't know if this is a once in a lifetime thing, but in terms of commercial attractiveness and financial viability, again, it was a no brainer. This thing was definitely going to attract a lot of attention, and it was definitely going to do business. Given our relationship with Mayweather it was an immediate yes for us.

PT: Showtime is planning to distribute Logan Paul’s brother Jake Paul’s August boxing event against UFC fighter Tyron Woodley. With now two PPV events featuring non-traditional boxers, are you concerned about potentially turning off fight fans going forward? 

SE: We have to be protective of our credibility and our reputation. We’ve worked 35 years to establish ourselves as the most experienced and credible boxing outlet in the sport, and we certainly wouldn’t sacrifice that for anyone. So obviously we believe that the two can co-exist side-by-side. We’ve seen this sort of crossover before -- we've seen UFC stars and WWE stars crossover. Even [TNT's The Match golf event] with Aaron Rogers, Tiger Woods and Tom Brady is a crossover event. No one looks at a golf event featuring Rogers, Brady and Phil Mickelson, or looks at Charles Barkley and Tony Romo playing in a golf tournament at Lake Tahoe and calls it an affront to The Masters tournament or that it is somehow an insult to what professional golfers do on the PGA Tour. The audience is smart enough to know the difference. We do high level MMA, we do championship boxing, we do premium sports documentaries like The Kings, and we’re in the midst of this spectacle. So for those who are worried about [Mayweather-Paul] diverting resources or attention from other events, I say  we can do these things side-by-side. In the long run we believe that this is just broadening the tent and extending the potential universe of boxing fans. If they come through the door for a Logan Paul or Jake Paul event and become boxing fans, I think that’s a positive thing for the sport and certainly a positive thing for the network.

Fox Sports’ Andy Ruiz Jr.-Chris Arreola heavyweight pay-per-view boxing event this past Saturday night ushered in what is shaping up to be a busy -- and hopefully lucrative -- spring and early summer period for the PPV boxing category. 

After a relatively quiet 2020 -- mostly due to the crippling effects of the pandemic on live sports events -- 2021 is already shaping up to be a comeback year for the PPV boxing category. It’s too early to tell how many PPV buys were generated from Saturday’s event -- in which Ruiz Jr. won in a majority decision over the veteran Arreola -- but the event serves as a launching pad for at least four PPV flights over the next three months. 

This Saturday, arguably PPV boxing’s current pound-for-pound champion Canelo Alvarez fights Billy Joe Saunders in a super-middleweight unification championship fight that will also stream on the DAZN sports service. 

Showtime will step into the PPV ring June 6 with an exhibition bout featuring retired PPV boxing champion Floyd Mayweather and  YouTube star Logan Paul, according to sources. Showtime will follow that fight up with a more conventional PPV fight card June 27 headlined by its Gervonta Davis-Mario Barrios super lightweight championship fight.

Read Also: Showtime Sets Gervonta Davis-Mario Barrios PPV Boxing Event 

The company having arguably the biggest influence on the PPV boxing genre this year is social media company Triller. Fresh off its April 17 Jake Paul-Ben Askren event that featured a mix of boxing matches and musical performances -- and still giddy over the success of last November's Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition boxing/concert event which drew north of 1.6 million PPV buys -- the company will offer via PPV a June 5 fight card featuring the Teofimo Lopez-George Kambosos Jr. lightweight championship fight. The card will also feature the return of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield to the ring against journeyman Kevin McBride.  

The company is also reportedly working on a July 3 fight that would mark the ring return of former six division champion Oscar De La Hoya. 

Read Also: Triller Looking to Shake Up PPV Event Category

The industry is hoping that the success and appeal of these events could help build momentum for some potentially lucrative Fall PPV boxing events that could feature such PPV draws as Manny Pacquiao, welterweight champion Errol Spence, heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, as well as a second Tyson event. 

 Multi-media company Triller is throwing its hat back into the pay-per-view event  ring Saturday, working with PPV event purveyor In Demand to distribute via traditional linear TV a boxing and music event headlined by YouTube personality Jake Paul’s boxing match against former mixed martial arts fighter Ben Askren. The event, which retails at a suggested price of $49.95, also features musical performances from such artists as Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Doja Cat, Snoop Dog and Ice Cube. 

The event follows Triller’s successful Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. PPV fight/entertainment event this past November, which drew a reported 1.6 million PPV buys. Triller also recently announced a June 5 PPV fight card which will feature the return of former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield to the ring against Kevin McBride, as well as a lightweight title fight between champion Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. 

I recently spoke to In Demand senior VP, programming and marketing Mark Boccardi about Triller’s influence within the PPV event category and how the company’s new boxing/entertainment strategy will affect traditional PPV boxing events going forward. Here’s an edited excerpt from our conversation. 

Picture This: What is your take on Triller’s approach to pay-per-view boxing events? 

Mark Boccardi: Boxing promoters have been forced to look at events differently, and that's a good thing. There is a tried and true way of doing things that still works, but I think when you look at the mix of sports and entertainment that Triller is doing, they are featuring legitimate pro boxers along with retired athletes and social media stars, as well as major music acts including Snoop Dog. That’s not to say that the traditional boxing way doesn't work, but when you have some opportunistic entrepreneurs who mix boxing and entertainment, it’s a combination that really does work. So when we look at this weekend, it’s a great way for us to leverage our decades of pay-per-view expertise and experience with what Triller brings to the table and grow an even broader fan base for the sport.

PT: You mention broadening the fan base -- are the viewers purchasing Triller events a new generation of PPV boxing consumers?

MB: Absolutely. We saw that with the Tyson event back in November. What we had was a huge pay-per-view number -- it was the eighth best pay-per-view event of all time. It was a remarkable number that wasn’t just made up of your traditional boxing fan base, nor was it  just a young, new fan base who wanted to watch the Jake Paul fight; it was a combination of the two. It was a perfect storm of attractiveness that turned it into a mega event. So with respect to this weekend and what Triller is doing, they are absolutely tapping into a new fan base, but I wouldn't say that they're not picking up the older fan base. I definitely think that there's widespread appeal for it,   but bringing in the new audience is really such a key point here. 

PT: Can this event generate a million PPV buys without the added appeal of a Mike Tyson or another marquee boxer? 

MB: We’ll see --  there are a number of boxing matches, and they have some big name musical acts from Justin Bieber to Snoop Dog to Doja Cat. I think that helps draw in a different fan base that would otherwise not be interested in a boxing event. We have everything aligning on our end in terms of distributor marketing support, Triller marketing support and social media support. The whole marketing machine is cranking. 

PT: Do events like this diminish the value and appeal of traditional PPV boxing events that don’t feature musical entertainment or social media celebrities?

MB: No, not at all. I really do believe that both scenarios can work. We’ve been busy over the last few months planning multiple pay-per-view events this year with several major fighters including Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, Errol Spence and Gervonta Davis. These are the names that represent the future of boxing. I think we’re going to have a really busy summer and fall for boxing, and we really feel good about the future of PPV boxing. There’s a lot of pent up demand because there hasn’t been a lot of those big events lately. 

A new subscription video on demand service targeted to millennials is set to debut in July.

The ad-free streaming service Zeus – founded by TV producer Lemuel Plummer (Preachers of LA franchise) along with social media stars King Bach, Amanda Cerny and DeStorm Power – will launch July 13 and will feature exclusive, premium original scripted and unscripted series and video content created by millennials.

Zeus will be available to subscribers for $3.99 per month on mobile and desktop computers at www.TheZeusNetwork.com. The Zeus mobile and connected TV apps will also be available on the Apple App store, Google Play Store, and Amazon App Store, according to the company.

The shows will feature such YouTube influencers as Jake Paul and Lamorne Morris, who the service hopes will draw on their more than 120 million social media followers to market and promote Zeus.

“On this network, we are greenlighting people, not shows." said Lemuel Plummer, president and CEO of Zeus in a statement. "Millennials can access exclusive, premium original content from a variety of their favorite creators, only available on Zeus. For this audience and for the platform, the influencers are the draw. Our goal is to extend what’s possible in Hollywood from a creative and business perspective to provide a different paradigm for these original and enterprising new voices in social media and their millions of fans."

The network also announced an agreement with SAG-AFTRA which will provide coverage for content produced by ZEUS and a pathway to SAG-AFTRA membership for ZEUS content creators, according to company officials.