The rise of exhibition fights and ‘sportainment’ is in the spotlight as Jake Paul and Tommy Fury finally lock horns this weekend

The imminent Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul fight will capture the interest of both boxing and entertainment communities alike in the long-awaited, twice cancelled, catchweight bout scheduled for 26th February.

With the rise in YouTube stars like Logan Paul, Jake Paul and KSI entering the boxing world, bringing new and more diverse audiences to the sport, it has brought about a ‘sportainment’ movement where sports and entertainment worlds collide.

Data from Entain, the global sport betting, gaming, and interactive entertainment group, reveals that two thirds of Brits have sided patriotically with Tommy Fury.

Through spats on social media and various altercations at boxing events in the last 12 months, the pair have brought a substantial number of fans to the contest beyond the traditional boxing audience. Entain’s online data, which covers the Group’s wide portfolio of brands around the world, including Ladbrokes and Coral in the UK, reveals that:

• In the last five years, the top three fights with the highest percentage of new customers came from fights that featured a YouTube star. Over 1 in 4 customers who bet on the KSI and Logan Paul fights in 2018 and 2019 respectively were new customers
• The growth of interest in YouTube bouts has continued unabated, either side of Covid restrictions. The KSI vs. Logan Paul fight of 2019 saw a threefold increase in number of bets vs. their first bout in 2018, in addition to over double the number of customers betting on the fight, evidencing the rapid growth of interest on creator boxing
• The imminent Tommy Fury vs. Jake Paul fight is likely to continue this trend and feature in the top ten biggest fights of the last six months in terms of number of bets placed, surpassing the heavyweight bout between New Zealand’s Joseph Parker and Jack Massey from the UK last month
• Over 1 in 4 customers betting on the Tommy Fury v Jake Paul fight are predicted to be new customers, a stark comparison to the traditional boxing bout earlier this year between British rivals Chris Eubank Jr vs. Liam Smith, where only 2% of customers were new customers

Dominic Grounsell, Chief Commercial Officer, Entain commented: “The way in which fans engage with sport and entertainment is changing, and the interest in creator boxing is one of the trends that sits at the heart of this convergence. We see from our data that these events are injecting new life into the sport, diversifying and bringing in new audiences beyond traditional boxing fans. As a leader in interactive entertainment, we want to be at the forefront of this by creating moments of excitement for all our customers, all backed up by the world’s most advanced player protection.”