Friday night’s much-awaited fight between former heavyweight legend Mike Tyson and social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul was predictably unwatchable.
Rather unpredictably, it wasn’t because of the fight itself — but rather the streaming service that was carrying it.
The fight was being handled by Netflix, the nation’s most prominent streaming service. You’d think, given the hype the event generated, they would be ready for it — particularly when it came to actually being able to stream it, which is sort of Netflix’s business and all.
Alas, social media was flooded with complaints of buffering, slow connections and internet outages, according to USA Today.
Add to that Netflix’s seeming inexperience with handling live sports events — a cameraman inadvertently managed to capture an image of Tyson’s naked posterior during the pre-fight build-up — and what should have been a rousing success for the service turned into a public relations nightmare.
Oh yeah, and the fight wasn’t any good, either.
The anticipation for the bout had been strong, particularly since it was delayed from its initially scheduled date of July 20 because the 58-year-old Tyson had an ulcer flare up.
Then, at the weigh-in earlier this week, Tyson and Paul came to blows:
MIKE TYSON HITS JAKE PAUL AT THE WEIGH IN #PaulTyson
—
LIVE ON NETFLIX
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
8 PM ET | 5 PM PT pic.twitter.com/kFU40jVvk0— Netflix (@netflix) November 15, 2024
Did you watch the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson?
Yes: 23% (170 Votes)
No: 77% (577 Votes)
Thus was the stage set. And while Paul has made waves as a heel fighting other aging ring legends — mostly winning — Tyson was the most legendary of them all, having held the undisputed heavyweight title from 1987 to 1990, when he suffered an upset against James “Buster” Douglas.
Not only that, but Tyson was renowned for his brutal power — which, while he’s well past his prime now, still meant there was a chance Paul might get uppercutted straight out of the fight venue at AT&T Stadium in suburban Dallas and end up crashing through the roof of the Louisiana Superdome when he finally came down.
So, even though social-media brat vs. senior citizen usually wouldn’t be must-see TV, this time it was. Netflix users tuned in in droves … to see this:
Seriously @netflix should be embarrassed right now. As soon as people actually want to use their service, THIS IS WHAT WE GET. pic.twitter.com/cVoKkRd5aX
— The Older Millennial (@teameffujoe) November 16, 2024
“Fans wanted to see some of the best fighters on the planet go toe-to-toe before being treated to a fight unlike anything ever seen. Instead, they’ve been getting a lot of the Netflix loading screen and still frames that no one wanted to see,” USA Today reported.
“From nearly the start of the undercard bouts from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the streamer has been freezing, losing sound and proving slow to reload,” Hollywood outlet Deadline noted.
“While not totally crashing as Netflix did when Luke Cage launched on the streamer in October 2016, the audio on the feed cut out over and over and the quality of the image was reduced to smeared pixels repeatedly.”
Among the most vocal and unhappy of the social media denizens who was prepared to watch the bout was Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports:
Warning: The following post contains graphic language that may be considered offensive.
Things are going bad to worse. #netflix #tysonpaul pic.twitter.com/sjJutpr1Zq
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 16, 2024
So the reports are in. #netflix wasnt ready for this. This is unwatchable. https://t.co/aajYTaesXL
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 16, 2024
The rest of the internet was a little less angry, but no less dismissive:
The Netflix servers right now 😭 pic.twitter.com/z72kH7IpX8
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) November 16, 2024
Me staring at my Netflix screen buffering for the 57th time #NetflixFight #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/MhwEMn5ZYs
— ταrα rαε (@traebanks) November 16, 2024
Aaahhhaaah I’m Netflix I’m hosting a fight but can’t handle the traffic pic.twitter.com/2sb1CF96u4
— Jordan Chamberlain (@jordylancaster) November 16, 2024
And as one user pointed out, Netflix has a little over a month before they’ll be streaming Christmas Day NFL games. You know, sporting events with real implications:
It’s all fun and games tonight @netflix, but if you ruin my family’s Christmas because we can’t watch the Steelers… there will be real hell to pay pic.twitter.com/wKAlwY3uJQ
— Tone Digs (@ToneDigz) November 16, 2024
As for the fight itself, the crowd of 70,000 at AT&T Stadium and however many managed to make it through the buffering on Netflix witnessed Paul win a unanimous decision over the former champ. Tyson seemed sluggish and slow to react — as indeed most 58-year-olds are, no matter how great they may have been in their prime — but when Paul connected, he wasn’t able to floor Tyson, either.
Keep in mind that these were highlights ESPN could put together out of the eight rounds of action:
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Somewhere in this fine nation of ours, Joyce Carol Oates is bawling her eyes out at what her beloved sport has been reduced to.
The fighters won’t be crying, however. Paul, whose lifetime record improves to 11-1, will take home roughly $40 million. Tyson, whose career total falls to 50-7, will make $20 million.
No word on what the cameraman who accidentally caused a picture of Tyson’s nude derriere to be splashed across the world’s TV screens will be making.
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