Jake Paul had to find another excuse for why the second Pay Per View event in succession on Showtime bombed at the box office.
Following the reported 65,000 buys for the Tyron Woodley rematch, Paul’s latest offering will land between two and three hundred thousand, according to Paul himself.
However, contrasting stories are appearing, which place the Anderson Silva clash far lower than Paul’s estimate.
Jake Paul’s career heading for oblivion
Even if the first numbers are closer to reality, this scenario means Paul’s boxing career is on a slow path to oblivion.
Given that his social media reach is over 30 million followers selling just two hundred thousand buys is a shocking return.
Showtime’s investment in Paul looks like a dud after just a few bouts. The novelty is wearing off – and fast.
Paul spoke about his latest PPV disaster on his brother’s “Impaulsive Podcast.”
He said: “The pre-buys were going crazy. On Wednesday, the fight was in jeopardy when the news came out about Anderson saying he got knocked out [in sparring].
“All this press came out, and the pre-buys tanked. The general public sees that and thinks it’s not happening.
“‘Tommy pulled out, Hasim pulled out. Jake Paul can’t get an event together. This is done.’ It killed ticket sales.”
Weak excuses
It’s a weak excuse from Paul, who had ample time to sell the fight before any reports of Silva getting dropped emerged.
Nonetheless, Paul’s estimate for the Silva sales plummeted from 700,000 by around half a million.
“I think it will probably go around 200,000 to 300,000, which is kind of upsetting,” predicted the ex-Disney child actor.
Paul’s total is far more than what some people in the know are stating about the Silva headliner.
After the Woodley rematch tanked, Paul sent a message regarding the 65,000 number. However, he’s yet to prove the number of sales was higher.
“The PPV number rumors are bulls***,” said Paul on the 65k. The first fight with Woodley sold 500k.
“Numbers for this one are still rolling in but still looking positive. Not my best business night.
“But remember. Everyone wanted to see me vs [Tommy] Fury, and that’s what we sold.
“Shoutout to Showtime for riding with me and all the fighters on the card. To Tyron for not being a b*** like most of these “fighters” are.”
Jake Paul should retire from boxing
After a couple of disastrous efforts on PPV and with any long-term interest in his career on the slide, Paul’s own brother Logan told him to walk away.
“My brother says I should retire. But I’m not going to do that,” said the YouTuber. “I think this is just the start.
“I’m really starting to get good. There’s a lot of people that I want to beat, and I want to be a world champion,” he added to MMA Fighting.
Next up, Paul is looking at a clash with Nate Diaz, another non-boxer. It could go down better than the Woodley and Silva bouts, but it still doesn’t cater to real boxing fans.
They want to see Paul tested as he continually calls out Canelo, David Benavidez, and others to fight him. He never backs up his words.
Even fighting a pro further down the ladder, which is all the sport wants of him, would be a start.
However, mud continues to get slung over the “right hand that didn’t land” on Silva in the final round. It was crucial for the unanimous decision at the Desert Diamond Arena.
Fight a boxer
Paul needs a live opponent, a known fighter and real boxer, to see off the haters and doubters.
Tommy Fury is preferable to Diaz but is still far from Paul’s own words. Heights anyone with any boxing sense knows he will never reach.
Maybe it’s time to take his brother’s advice before things go from awful to entirely in the toilet.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of Phil Jay.
WBN Editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. Follow WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram, and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
