Whether you love him or hate him, you and your friends probably can’t stop betting on him.
YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul has been a bizarre phenomenon in the boxing world, and betting data exclusively obtained by The Post shows that he is perhaps the biggest name in the boxing world today.
“With several fights under his belt, it’s clear that Jake Paul moves the needle,” ESPN BET‘s Senior Vice President and Head of Sportsbook Patrick Jay tells The Post in an email. “Jake Paul’s fights average 17x more bets and 13x higher handle per event than standard boxing events. Compared to Championship boxing events, Jake Paul fights take in an average of 2.5x more bets and 2.5x higher handle.”
Things will only get bigger now, with Paul set to box Mike Tyson on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
“We would expect Jake Paul-Mike Tyson to be the most bet boxing match in BetMGM history.” Seamus Magee, Trading Manager at BetMGM, tells The Post.
Paul’s July 20 win over Mike Perry, a replacement fight taken on three weeks’ notice for the injured Tyson, was the 14th most bet-on boxing match in DraftKings and BetMGM history.
Five of Paul’s fights are inside DraftKings‘ top 20 in the most money wagered in the sportsbook’s history for boxing fights, with one in the top five.
His fight versus Nate Diaz ranks fourth, his bout versus Ben Askren is 18th, his battle with Tommy Fury lands in 19th place, and his win over Anderson Silva ranks 20th on the list of dollars wagered on boxing matches.
“Jake Paul’s emergence into boxing has helped elevate a sport that had been consistently declining in popularity,” Johnny Avello, Director of Sports Operations for DraftKings, tells The Post. “As he continues to get more experience and improve, he also becomes more legitimate to both boxing fans and bettors. His fights have drawn strong betting activity, and we’re certainly looking forward to his upcoming match with Mike Tyson.”
BetMGM adds that Paul-Diaz was their platform’s second-most-bet-on boxing event of the last two years, behind only Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia in 2023.
That means that Paul-Diaz accrued more betting interest than Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury, which happened this past May.
Paul has been a sizable favorite in nearly all of his fights, typically fighting MMA fighters but also battling boxers in some cases.
Paul was a -2500 favorite against boxer Ryan Bourland but also closed as an underdog to Fury (+120), a fight he would lose.
On average, Paul has been a -438.33 favorite in 12 boxing matches, including his upcoming fight with Mike Tyson, where he’s roughly a -225 to -250 favorite.
Despite the heavy favorite status, bettors still come — in droves — to wager on the guy, with ESPN Bet reporting 58 percent of moneyline bets are on him across all fights, and receiving 62 percent of the handle.
“He’s driving casual interest in the sport and increased wagering activity amongst fans whether they are for or against him,” Jay said.
Paul’s manager, Nakisa Bidarian, tells The Post that while these fights, in hindsight, may seem like cakewalks thanks to some highlight reel knockouts, they are not when you consider broad picture of the boxing landscape and the pre-fight odds.
“Jake Paul has consistently headlined events where the odds are significantly closer than other boxing events with the sport’s most accomplished boxers,” Bidarian says. “Terence Crawford is fighting on Aug. 3 and is a -750 favorite (vs. Israil Madrimov).
“When Jake fights, the predicted outcome is rarely so one-sided. Jake is -240 in his fight against Mike Tyson, and I have no doubt it will be the most-bet combat sports event in history.”
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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 every bit who he says he is.