The much-hyped and much-delayed live fight on Netflix tonight between Mike Johnson and Jake Paul had some success even before the former heavyweight champion and YouTuber-turned-boxer stepped into the ring.
Almost from the start of the undercard bouts from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the streaming device was freezing, losing audio and proving slow to reload. While it didn’t crash like it did with Netflix when Luke Cage launched on the streamer in October 2016, the audio in the feed was repeatedly cut off, and the image quality dropped to repeatedly smudged pixels.
Across the country, fight fans took to social media to voice their complaints.
“This live stream from #Netflix is horrible,” @Cali_Baba wrote on X/Twitter early in the multi-fight event. He said in complaints that were common on Friday: “buffering and pausing, pixelated image, muffled audio.” “They wanted the big event, and they’re floundering. If I bought a subscription for this event, I’m going to demand my money back first thing tomorrow.
Tonight’s fights were the most ambitious live sports event Netflix has ever undertaken through Ted Sarandos and Greg Peter, but the streamer had no comment on the technical difficulties. However, Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, said it all for everyone when the NFL president’s microphone died on the field as he praised the work with Netflix.
One Barstool Sports host’s social media feed also summarized what a lot of fight fans were feeling
In the lead-up to 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul putting their dukes in the former’s first professional fight in nearly 20 years, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are vying for the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association titles. WBC and WBO titles. While Paul is seen as the favorite against the man known as Iron Mike, Serrano is seen as having the advantage over the Irish fighter in a rematch after UFC 2022 at Madison Square Garden.
In this context, despite the digital stumbles and all, tonight’s fight certainly looked like the classic Tyson fights of the 80s and 90s – at least in terms of format.
Like HBO matches in years past, Netflix’s coverage of the fight was limited to locker room interviews with Paul and Tyson, including one shot of the latter walking away with his butt displayed in a jockstrap. “We could have done it without that shot there,” he said. Do the right thing Star Rosie Perez, nicknamed the “First Lady of Boxing,” in her commentary.
For some, the footage was frozen, on their screens and in their minds.
Glenn Garner contributed to this report
A source