Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, & Why We Are Fascinated By Messiness
The fight was the farce that it was always meant to be, and yet we couldn’t look away…because deep down we all love watching a disaster unfold
60 million. That is how many people tuned in to the Netflix exclusive boxing exhibition between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. The fight was the latest installment of Paul’s foray into professional boxing. With his victory against Tyson, Paul’s record improves to 12–1 and continues to be a fascinating person of interest to many that follow combat sports.
More than anything, Jake Paul is a tremendous promoter and marketer. Much of this fight was a farce, from the limited intensity shown by both participants and the server issues that plagued the Netflix stream. And yet we couldn’t look away, just as we couldn’t look away from any Jake Paul fight.
In many ways, this Jake Paul fight highlighted our nature of wanting to see a disaster. It tapped into our most basic need to be proven right and to see someone that is an imposter to get what we deem is coming to him. In short, it was a metaphor for the way we love to hate watch content in 2024.
