Tyson a circus act but Taylor will steal show

WHEN Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano engaged in their war over 10 intense rounds in Madison Square Garden two years ago, an audience of 1.5 million watched around the world. Even though this constituted record viewing figures for DAZN, the sports streaming platform, it still seemed a paltry number for what was an all-time classic bout.

A hasty arrangement with BBC meant that the fight was shown on the Beeb later in the week, so more eyeballs got to witness Taylor’s extraordinary comeback from the brink of defeat. But even that will seem small compared to the number who might watch their rematch in the home of the Dallas Cowboys on July 20.

The excitement of the world’s two preeminent female fighters getting back into a ring again has been tempered somewhat by the fact that it is part of the circus act that is Mike Tyson, who will have turned 58 by the time he makes his ring-walk, facing Jake Paul, the former YouTube star who promotes Serrano.

Tyson vs Paul is the latest in these crossover bouts that seem to belong more in the world of WWE and professional wrestling, but which the fight game has increasingly invested in as a way of remaining relevant to the YouTube and social media generation.

And even though Jake Paul has faced only mediocre opposition in his 10 pro fights (a record of 9-1), Paul is the most famous and recognised heavyweight in the world. People who have no idea who Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury are, have lapped up every moment of Paul’s 10 professional bouts.

Each to their own. Having watched Paul in action up close in the days prior to Taylor’s first showdown with Serrano, it’s clear he is a brilliant salesman, who knows how to promote a product. He does it all in a loud and brash way, in many ways the inverse of what Taylor represents, but it works.

And it will work again this July. Those of us who winced when it was announced that the Taylor-Serrano rematch would be a sideshow in this circus act failed to see the bigger picture. Irrespective of what happens in the exhibition bout at the top of the card, this will be the biggest, mostlucrative and most-viewed women’s boxing match of all-time.

The two protagonists stand to make over $5million each from the fight purse — an incredible amount when female fighters are still earning a fraction of what male boxers do. Netflix has more than 260 million subscribers worldwide. If even one percent of them tune in, it will still be over one million viewers more than the all-time classic in the Garden pulled in.

Taylor will have just turned 38 when she walks towards the ring in Texas. For two decades, she has carried her sport forward — from her skills helping women’s boxing to become an Olympic sport to being at the forefront of women’s pro boxing. Now, there is always at least one women’s bout on every professional card. That is the most tangible sign of the Bray native’s effect on the sport.

And she will meet her toughest opponent — even Chantelle Cameron didn’t ask as many questions of Taylor as Serrano — on the biggest platform yet for women’s boxing. Those who tune in for the freak show of a 58-year-old Tyson might end up being the newest converts to Katie Taylor.

Even in playing second fiddle to such a circus act, it is likely that Taylor — and Serrano — will end up stealing the show.