The highly anticipated fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, held on November 15, became one of the most talked-about events of the past year. While the bout shattered viewership records on Netflix, USA TODAY Sports revealed that it fell short of expectations in terms of attendance.
According to documents obtained by the outlet, a tax report submitted by fight promoter Holden Boxing LLC showed that 59,666 tickets were sold, with an additional 6,437 distributed as complimentary, for a total of 66,103 tickets.
These numbers starkly contrasted with Paul’s ambitious prediction of 90,000 spectators at AT&T Stadium. Achieving that figure would have required selling 10,000 standing-room-only seats at the 80,000-seat venue, home to the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite falling short of the projected crowd, the fight generated $18.1 million in ticket revenue, the highest ever for a U.S. boxing event outside of Nevada. The total revenue subject to state taxes reached $22 million, including $3.6 million attributed to complimentary tickets.
