YouTube sensation-turned-celebrity boxer Jake Paul didn’t get to fight “TNT” earlier this month on Showtime pay-per-view (PPV), but that doesn’t mean a bomb wasn’t present at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
Early reports had “The Problem Child’s” cruiserweight rematch against Tyron Woodley, a last-minute booking after Tommy Fury withdrew due to illness, limping across the finish line with less than 65,000 terrestrial buys.
Digital sales are expected to improve that number, but industry estimates have the “Leave No Doubt” event — co-headlined by a women’s boxing match between Amanda Serrano and Miriam Gutierrez — finishing below 100,000 units.
“The PPV number rumors are bullshit,” Paul wrote on Twitter. “First fight with Woodley we sold 500k-plus. Numbers for this one are still rolling in but still looking positive. Not my best business night. But remember: everyone wanted to see me versus Fury and that’s what we sold. Shoutout to Showtime for riding with me and all the fighters on the card and Tyron for not being a bitch like most of these ‘fighters’ are.”
Not surprisingly, Woodley jumped at the chance to replace the ailing Fury and was looking to avenge his split-decision loss to “The Problem Child” back in August. That said, I’m not sure anyone outside of “The Chosen One” was that jazzed about a second go-round.
Their first fight was by and large a ho-hum affair.
After knocking out Woodley in the sixth round of their Dec. 18 main event, Paul told the combat sports community that he would be taking a leave of absence to rest and recuperate from a busy 2021, a vacation that may become permanent if reports of his dismal PPV sales were not, in fact, “bullshit rumors.”
Time will tell.