Why Did Netflix Mike Tyson Docuseries Omit His Last Fight?

Netflix’s “Tyson” four-part documentary series covering the life of Mike Tyson was good.

It wasn’t a boxing documentary. Instead, the story of a complex sports icon that came from nothing, gained everything you could ever want despite constant heartbreak, and nearly lost it all on multiple occasions.

But how didn’t they capture his last moment in the ring?

The Netflix docuseries left out other notable details in Tyson’s story.

But Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul wasn’t even mentioned.

Admittedly, when Netflix started promoting a docuseries about Tyson, I assumed it was going to be a puff piece about a boxing legend that just fought in a lucrative streaming event against Jake Paul that reached over 100 million viewers on their platform. In my brain, maybe the streaming giant owed a favor to Tyson for taking a fight as seriously as he could at damn near 60 years old, especially against the senior citizen head hunter in Paul.

The November 2024 circus against an influencer turned boxing promoter is just a footnote in Tyson’s iconic story, of course. He had other exhibitions that were excluded, also. But the fourth episode detailed Tyson’s economic hardship once his fighting days were over. Before his 2009 cameo in “The Hangover,” Tyson's wife admitted that the phone calls for appearances and events had completely quieted.

Even though he was once the biggest sports stars and celebrities on the planet, Tyson was sort of forgotten about in the mid-2000s. Now? He’s everywhere. He does commercials, he owns brands. But how did that happen? How much money did he recoup before his fight against Paul?

The fight against Paul reportedly paid Tyson $20 million. While that’s probably not as much as he made fighting Lennox Lewis in 2002 (reported $35 million up to $105 million total share) or Evander Holyfield in either fight ($30 million each fight, $60 million total), it would’ve been interesting to understand how that event changed his current financial situation.

According to Sports Illustrated, appearances and podcasting plus his Tyson 2.0 cannabis brand gave the boxing legend an estimated net worth of $10 million before his fight with Paul. So that event doubled his net worth (which likely wasn’t liquid cash) and that wasn’t worth including in the documentary?

It’s a curious omission.

Tyson’s story doesn’t need it, especially layering in all of the other omissions. But that fight shaped how the next generation boxing fans perceived Tyson.

He’s a complicated figure who accomplished some great things, was accused and convicted of some vile things yet reclaimed his superstar status in the court of public opinion. But money is a huge part of his story. And the final chapter being omitted just felt odd.