The fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul sets record betting odds for a combat sports event

Jake Paul’s unanimous victory over former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson may have been disappointing from a competitive perspective, but it set record betting odds.

BetMGM said the fight between the YouTube star and 58-year-old Tyson, who showed his age by being a sitting target, was the highest-profile boxing or mixed-martial arts fight. The sportsbook took three times the number of bets and four times the money of any combat sport in BetMGM history.

Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading at Caesars Sportsbook, said the fight was similar to an NFL game on Monday night.

“We knew there would be huge interest in the fight because the betting suggested it was a generational matchup in terms of customer demographics,” Mucklow said. “Those old enough to remember a peak Mike Tyson got to experience the nostalgia one last time, while those not old enough to know Iron Mike stood firmly on the Jake Paul side of the counter.”

Johnny Avello, DraftKings director of sports operations, said the fight was also the most heavily bet boxing match.

“The punters were eager for Tyson to return to the ring even at the age of 58, and wanted to be part of this moment with one of the icons of the sport,” Avello said. “We’ll see who Jake Paul fights next, but his matches have proven to create huge buzz and unprecedented action across our platforms.”

The amount of the bets cannot necessarily be used to make a direct comparison to betting on big fights in the past, as so many big fights, including Tyson’s biggest fights, took place before sports betting was legalized outside Nevada in 2018. It is still not legal in 38 states. But the fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas still drew a huge draw.

Most of the bets at BetMGM Sportsbook were on proposition bets, with the most popular bet being on Tyson winning by knockout, decision or a first-round KO.

Although Paul was a -175 favorite, 67% of the tickets and 53% of the money at BetMGM went to Tyson. “Paul winning was a good result for the sportsbook,” said BetMGM senior trader Alex Rella.