Paul vs. Davis Poised to Vastly Outperform Canelo-Crawford’s Audience and Challenge the All-Time Netflix Boxing Record

The viewing numbers on Netflix for the Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis fight could surpass the 41.4 million global viewers who watched the recent Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight on September 13 on that platform.

The Battle for Netflix Viewers

With Jake Paul’s massive reach on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and X, and Gervonta Davis’ fanbase of hip-hop and younger fans, this event is expected to perform well on Netflix.

Gen Z Versus The Hardcore Fan

If a YouTuber, Jake Paul,  and a lightweight Tank Davis can attract more viewers on Netflix than the pound-for-pound fighters Canelo & Crawford, what does that say about them? The problem with Canelo and Crawford is that they have never drawn interest from Gen Z or the casual fans.

The people who tuned in for Canelo-Crawford were the dedicated hardcore and the curious fans who wondered what the hype was about. You can argue that the people who watched the event between those two on September 13 won’t become dedicated fans. The reason is simple:

• The Canelo-Crawford fight was dull: it was a chess match with little action, and neither fighter showed a desire to mix it up.
• Undercard lacking: It was the equivalent of junk food in my view.
• Theatrics missing: It didn’t have the excitement of a WWE fight or the drama in the build-up. Canelo and Crawford both lacked charisma and appeared wooden when trying to sell their fight. Their painfully boring performance during the fight mirrored their stiff acting during the buildup.

Paul vs. Tank Davis is a fight that would make Alvarez and Crawford look bad while at the same time sending a message to boxing fans about who is the true King of the sport in terms of marketability.

Alalshikh’s Potentially Misplaced Millions

It would show that Turki Alalshikh wasted his money by matching Canelo against Crawford. He should have put together a fight between Alvarez and Jake Paul because of the wider audience. Moreover, Crawford is turning 38, so whatever fans he might have gained from his win over Canelo, it’s unlikely to be sustainable. He’ll likely be retiring after two fights.

With much attention, Paul-Davis is receiving from fans, it could be a record-breaker for boxing on Netflix, surpassing the audience for Jake’s fight against Mike Tyson on November 15, 2024.

Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson audience compared to the Canelo Alvarez vs. Crawford contest on Netflix:

• Paul vs. Tyson: 108 million global viewers
• Canelo vs. Crawford: 41 million global viewers

Jake’s fight against Tank Davis is scheduled for Friday, November 14, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. It’s an exhibition match with a catchweight of 195 lbs.

The True Measure of Stardom

I think there will be a lot of upset Crawford fans if the Paul-Tank fight attracts many more viewers on Netflix. Don’t forget, there was a fortune poured into the Canelo Alvarez-Terence Crawford clash by Turki Alalshikh, who sold it as “The Fight of the Century.” Never mind that it failed to live up to expectations and wasn’t even the most entertaining fight on the card that night.