The Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis exhibition clash on November 14 on Netflix has a real possibility of surpassing the 41 million global viewing numbers that the expensive Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford event pulled in on that platform last September.
The 41-Million Benchmark
Imagine how it will look if Jake’s fight with Gervonta brings in far more viewers than the 41 million global viewers on Netflix that Alvarez’s clash against Crawford drew. It would be eye-opening and embarrassing at the same time.
Turki’s Great Misfire
The message would suggest that Jake Paul should have been used as Canelo Alvarez’s opponent, not Crawford. The numbers would have likely been far greater. Moreover, Canelo’s star would still shine brightly afterward due to the likelihood of winning.
Turki would come out ahead because not only would the event have been massive on Netflix, but the last two fights that Canelo has on his contract with Riyadh Season would likely attract more interest than they do now, given that he has lost to an older Crawford.
Did Turki make a mistake not using Jake as Canelo’s opponent? It’s hard not to see it that way if you look at it from a realistic view. Paul’s fan base is significantly larger than Crawford’s comparatively smaller one.
If Turki wanted to do Crawford a solid, he could have set up a fight between him and David Benavidez, Dmitry Bivol, or Jaron Ennis. He’d still gotten a big payday fighting them, although his chances of winning would be slim. Even if Crawford got blown out of the water, he’d at least shown that he dared to fight as an underdog for once.
Terence’s whole thing is he wants to be seen at the same table as the all-time greats on the Mount Rushmore of boxing, but he didn’t accomplish that by beating a washed-up Canelo. Crawford needed to beat Benavidez, Bivol, or Ennis to do that.
Netflix’s New Kingmaker
The YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul isn’t viewed in the same light as Crawford and Canelo in terms of his boxing ability and achievements in the sport. But if his viewing numbers for his exhibition match crush those of the September 13th event on Netflix, it’s going to send a message about who the true global star of boxing is. It’s not Canelo, and certainly not Crawford. Paul would be the King of the sport.
The promotional budget for the Paul-Davis fight is likely to be a fraction of the gazillions that Turki Alalshikh poured into advertising the Canelo-Crawford event on September 13th. Those two received enormous purses for what Turki labeled “The Fight of the Century.”
Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis will be fighting on November 14, 2025, at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Florida. In comparison to the money poured into creating the Canelo-Crawford event, the Paul-Davis event isn’t expected to have that kind of budget thrown into it.
With Jake’s ability to market his fights through soundbites and his massive social media following, he doesn’t need the same promotional push to get fans interested in tuning in on Netflix to watch.
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Last Updated on 10/05/2025
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