Love him or hate him, you and your friends won’t be able to stop betting on him.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul is something of a phenomenon in the boxing world, but betting data obtained exclusively by The Washington Post shows he’s perhaps the most famous face in the sport today.
“Jake Paul has had numerous fights and is clearly making a difference,” Patrick Jay, senior vice president and head of sportsbook at ESPN BET, told The Post in an email. “Jake Paul fights average 17x the purse and 13x the volume compared to a typical boxing event. Compared to championship boxing events, Jake Paul fights average 2.5x the purse and 2.5x the volume.”
Things are only going to get bigger with Paul set to face Mike Tyson on November 15th at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
“We expect Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson to be the most betten boxing fight in BetMGM history,” Seamus McGehee, trading manager at BetMGM, told The Post.
Paul’s July 20 win over Mike Perry in a bout three weeks ago to replace the injured Tyson was the 14th most-betted boxing bout in DraftKings and BetMGM history.
Five of Paul’s bouts have been in the top 20 of DraftKings’ sportsbook-wide boxing bets, with one of them in the top five.
On the list of amounts bet on boxing matches, a bout with Nate Diaz comes in fourth, a bout with Ben Askren comes in 18th, a bout with Tommy Fury comes in 19th and a win over Anderson Silva comes in 20th.
“Jake Paul’s arrival on the boxing scene has helped elevate a sport that had consistently declined in popularity,” Johnny Avello, head of sports operations at DraftKings, told The Post. “As he continues to grow with experience, he becomes more credible with both boxing fans and bettors. His fights have generated excitement for betting, and we’re excited for his upcoming bout against Mike Tyson.”
BetMGM added that the Paul vs. Diaz fight was the second-most betten boxing event on its platform over the past two years, behind Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia in 2023.
That means the Paul vs. Diaz fight attracted more bets than the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury fight in May this year.
Paul has performed quite well in almost all of his fights so far, usually against mixed martial artists but occasionally against boxers.
Paul was a -2500 favorite against boxer Ryan Borland but finished the bout as an underdog (+120) against Fury, ultimately losing the fight.
On average, Paul is a -438.33 favorite in his 12 boxing bouts and is roughly a -225 to -250 favorite going into his next bout with Mike Tyson.
Despite being the overwhelming favorite to win, bettors still flocked to the guy, with ESPN Bet reporting that 58 percent of the moneyline bets were placed on him throughout the entire game, and he won 62 percent of the money wagered.
“He’s increased casual interest in the sport and increased gambling among fans, pro and anti,” Jay said.
Paul’s manager, Nakissa Vidarian, told The Post that while these bouts may look like easy wins in hindsight thanks to some of the highlight knockouts, that wasn’t the case when you consider the bigger picture in the boxing world and the pre-fight odds.
“Jake Paul has always been in the main event in fights where the odds are a lot closer than other fights featuring some of the best boxers in the business,” Vidarian said. “Terence Crawford fights on Aug. 3 and is at -750 odds (against Israil Madrimov).”
“When Jake fights, the predicted outcome is rarely so one-sided. Jake is -240 to fight Mike Tyson, but there’s no doubt this fight will be the most bet-on combat sports event of all time.”
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If these betting numbers are any indication of pay-per-view buys and popularity (and they are at least semi-correlated), Paul is exactly who he says he is.
