Logan Paul Credits Jake for Pioneering Streaming Era as Boxing Saved by Netflix Amid UFC’s $7.7B Paramount Deal

As the dust settled, the news was clear: Jake Paul will face Gervonta Davis. The exhibition bout, likely a ten-rounder, will pit the YouTuber-turned-boxer, now ranked fourteenth at cruiserweight, against the lightweight champion. The fight takes place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 14. Despite criticism, the matchup has already stirred a frenzy across the boxing world. Backlash aside, the intrigue lies in Jake Paul’s return to Netflix.

Nearly a year ago, his fight with Mike Tyson streamed on the platform, the first for a combat event on Netflix. Now, the Canelo-Crawford mega bout is also set to premiere on the platform. The Jake Paul fight announcement follows UFC’s $7.7 billion seven-year deal with Paramount, set to begin in 2026 once its ESPN contract ends. While many hailed the move, to a few, it marks the beginning of the end for pay-per-view (PPV). Boxing already witnessed the fall of linear viewing when ESPN and Top Rank split last July. And according to Logan Paul, his younger brother was the one who landed the first punch against the model.

Logan Paul to Jake Paul: Bro, you rang the first bell on this!

The WWE star’s comments surfaced in the most unlikely setting. Last week, Logan Paul married girlfriend Nina Agdal. The latest episode of ‘Impaulsive’ featured the couple, along with Jake, their father Greg Paul, and the rest of the crew, including Mike Majlak. As they recapped the wedding, the conversation quickly shifted to the Tank fight. When Jake Paul confirmed the date and Netflix broadcast, his elder brother jumped in: “It’s funny, like, actually, you kind of, you kind of like pioneered this a little bit. The pay-per-view model for combat is dying.”

Logan, who faces John Cena on August 31, pointed to the UFC–Paramount deal and suggested, “Free fights may be the way of the future.” Jake added one reason driving the change: “Piracy is such a big problem. That’s what it is.” He then noted how boxing has always moved through different viewing eras.

“So there’s, you know, there was like the TV era of boxing, then there was the pay-per-view era of boxing, and now we’re going into the streaming era of boxing. So it’s just interesting; things are going to get weird, but I mean, shout out to Netflix for, like, believing in it,” Jake Paul said.

Whether Logan Paul’s claim holds true is a matter of perspective.

The Problem Child and the Pay-Per-View

Jake Paul has had a complicated relationship with pay-per-view. On one hand, he criticized the model. On the other hand, he took part in it and often declared himself one of its biggest draws. His 2023 tweet is a case in point. Then came Jake Paul’s latest criticism.

He blasted TKO, whose UFC arm struck the Paramount deal, for pushing out pay-per-view after pay-per-view, starting with Khamzat Chimaev vs. Dricus Du Plessis. “The hubris from these guys is unreal if you’re their partner. First, they talk about getting into boxing with no risk & charging fees on fees on fees from their partners who are putting up the money. Now they are saying PPV is dead when they have a PPV this weekend with Du Plessis, another one with Pereira, another one with Aspinall, and another one with…” Paul tweeted.

On one thing, most agree. The sport must widen its audience. From exclusive pay-per-views to subscription-based streaming, the goal is to expand viewership. And in an era of short attention spans, locking fights behind selective access risks backfiring.

So whether Jake Paul truly pioneered the decline of PPV or whether concerns about his mismatch with Gervonta Davis take center stage, the bigger point remains: boxing needs to reach the masses.

Do you agree with Logan Paul’s comments?