Netflix has announced that it will be releasing a new sports series that examines the life and legacy of legendary boxer Mike Tyson. As the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of the sport, Tyson’s impact penetrates beyond the ring and has cemented himself as one of the most compelling and polarizing figures of all time. Known as the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” viewers will be able to see his triumphs, struggles and redemption, gaining a new perspective on the boxer in new settings. The series will consist of three episodes of 60 minutes each that look at different aspects of Tyson in and outside of the ring.
EverWonder Studio, DLP Media Group and Five All In The Fifth will serve as the production companies associated with the project. Ian Orefice, Jim Gray, Michael Hughes, Greg C. Lake and Douglas Banker have been revealed as executive producers. Floyd Russ, the director of series such as Untold: Malice at the Palace American Manhunt and The Boston Marathon Bombing, is going to be the director and an executive producer on this project as well.
“Having an opportunity to share my story through the reflective lens of my growth and maturity in a multi-part documentary on Netflix will be a challenging journey, yet a very welcoming one,” Tyson said in a statement. “Most people are too scared to look at their lives objectively, wanting to paint themselves as the hero of their own story. But if we are truly objective, we know we can never be the hero in our own story. We have to be able to face the man in the mirror, taking the good with the bad to give a full account of our contributions in this life. Netflix is the perfect platform to tell my story because of their global reach.”
Within its last quarterly earnings report, Netflix divulged that it has 282.7 million global subscribers. Over the last several years, it has released various sports documentaries, such as Quarterback, Starting 5, Full Swing and Receiver. The platform recently released Enigma: Aaron Rodgers, which looks at the life and career of the legendary NFL quarterback. Additionally, Netflix will present a doubleheader of NFL games on Christmas Day in the first season of a three-year deal with the NFL. Moreover, it will premiere WWE Raw on Monday, Jan. 6 to commence a 10-year media rights deal reportedly worth $5 billion.
Netflix, in partnership with Most Valuable Promotions and EverWonder, recently presented a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that it reported as the most-streamed sporting event of all time. The presentation attained an average minute audience of 108 million live viewers globally, including a peak of 65 million live concurrent streams for the Paul-Tyson bout. The fight also amassed over 1.4 billion owned impressions on Netflix global social media channels.
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