The much maligned rematch between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley bombed on PPV, according to a new report.
Paul’s latest freakshow came about when Tommy Fury was forced to pull out of the mid-December match-up due to injury. In Fury, “The Problem Child” was at least set to face a boxer for the first time in his boxing career. However, with the younger brother of heavyweight champ Tyson Fury out of the bout, Woodley stepped in on short notice.
Woodley and Paul had first met in August, with Paul winning a split decision. A former UFC welterweight champion, Woodley immediately campaigned for a rematch, going so far as to tattoo “I love Jake Paul” on his finger. While the Youtuber creator was initially averse to running the fight back, Fury dropping out opened the door.
The rematch ended with Paul knocking “T-Wood” out cold in the sixth round, after largely being outworked throughout the opening five frames, if by a slim margin. However, in the sixth round, Woodley let his guard down, literally, and paid for it.
It appears fans didn’t pay for the event, however. According to a report by DAZN Boxing’s Steven Muelhausen Jr., Paul vs. Woodley 2 drew less than All Elite Wrestling’s Full Gear on terrestrial PPV. The November wrestling PPV’s number on cable and satellite providers came in at approximately 65,000 buys per the report.
Now, the caveat: neither AEW nor Paul vs. Woodley 2 were limited to traditional PPV providers only. According to Wrestlenomics, factoring in streaming purchases, Full Gear did a total of 145,000 buys — making it the second highest-selling event in the fledgling wrestling company’s history.
Whether Paul vs. Woodley 2, promoted by SHOWTIME, sees a similar bump remains to be seen. Paul tends to draw a younger fanbase than the traditional boxing audience. However, the final number is likely to fall well short of the reported 500,000 buys their first match drew.
