Jake Paul claims his upcoming contest with Mike Tyson has broken the record for the highest gate receipt for a fight outside of Las Vegas.
Sin City has long been hailed as the fight capital of the world, with some of the highest-grossing bouts in the history of the sport taking place at the seat of Clark County.
Paul vs Tyson is set for November 15 in Arlington, TexasCredit: AFP
Floyd Mayweather’s long-awaited showdown with Manny Pacquiao in 2015 at the MGM Grand had a record-breaking live gate of $72.1million while his crossover clash with dual-weight UFC champion Conor McGregor at the T-Mobile Arena raked in $55.4m two years later.
Canelo Alvarez’s two fights with Gennady Golovkin ($27m for the first and $24.4m for the second), Mayweather-Canelo ($20m) and Mayweather vs Oscar De La Hoya ($18.1m) complete the top six highest gate receipts of all time and all took place in Vegas.
But just below them with $17.2m worth of tickets sold is Tyson’s final world title fight against Lennox Lewis at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee.
This has stood as the highest boxing gate receipt outside of Las Vegas for 22 years but Paul claims his next fight has blown that out of the water.
“Biggest boxing event live gate $ in US history outside of Las Vegas,” tweeted Paul accompanied by a green tick emoji.
Paul and Tyson are set to square off on Friday night at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – the home of NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.
The impressive structure, which cost $1.3 billion to build, can fit 80,000 fans in its stands but can be reconfigured to hold over 100,000 people.
It’s currently unclear exactly how many seats have been shifted for the fight – although there are still tickets up for sale at the time of writing.
Standard tickets range from $37 to $50,000 while there is a stunning $2m luxury VIP package on offer, called the ‘MVP Owner’s Experience’.
There are four tiers of VIP packages for the fight – the Contender Package, Champion Package, Ringside VVIP Package, and the MVP Owner’s Experience.
Lewis and TysonCredit: GETTY
According to MVP’s press release, the MVP Owner’s Experience package ‘will offer unparalleled seats, access and amenities during fight week and on fight night’.
They state: “The $2million experience is anchored by two ringside apron seats (owner’s seats) that have never been offered in boxing before, as well as four first row floor seats, and four second row floor seats for the event.
“The fight night experience includes an exclusive stadium arrival experience, security and escort during the night.
The AT&T Stadium has 80,000 seats and can take an extra 20,000 fansCredit: Getty
“It includes a pre-fight in locker room photo with each of Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, gloves signed by both fighters, a private green room with a top shelf open bar and all-inclusive food menu, and a post-fight in-ring photo opportunity for the group.”
There are also opportunities before the fight.
The press release continues: “Ahead of Friday, MVP Owner’s Experience ticket holders will be provided exclusive access, accommodations, transportation, and premium gifts, including VIP lounge access and front row tickets to all of fight week events and activations, beginning Tuesday.
“This includes the opportunity to be on stage with fighters during the final Paul vs Tyson weigh-in on Thursday.
“The MVP Owner’s Experience will also provide two-night luxury accommodations at the official fight hotel or similar luxury hotel option for 10 guests, featuring a penthouse suite for two, and four rooms to accommodate supplementary guests.
“Guests will additionally be provided with private luxury mini-coach transportation to and from events on Thursday and Friday.”
If this has been sold, which has yet to be confirmed, then that will make up a big proportion of the total gate.