On Second Thought... And the Week Ahead

Jake Paul and Netflix's event Friday had nothing to do with sports. It had everything to do with a never-ending media obsession with the 1980s... and the psychology of American customers. Well played.

Dear Fellow Expat:

Yesterday, I entered rant territory on the Netflix boxing debacle on Friday night.

Over 60 million people worldwide streamed a boxing match between 27-year-old social media star Jake Paul and the 58-year-old shell of Mike Tyson, one of the greatest fighters of all time.

I spent hours on Saturday reflecting on this event… because sometimes the first impression and knee-jerk conclusion aren’t right.

I never thought I was duped into watching it.

But I initially couldn’t figure out what made this fight utterly appealing (and ultimately disappointing) for roughly tens of millions of people.

So… I reflected on the “Why?”

Why was this fight something so many people wanted to see in the first place?

The first clue is Jake Paul and his role in this (it wasn’t just boxer and promoter).

Paul walked away with $40 million for this fight in the “yet fully developed” streaming world of YouTube and Netflix, while Tyson got $20 million.

During eight two-minute rounds (16 minutes), bo…