Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua fight almost cost DraftKings $100 million. Everyday bettors lost instead.

By Weston Blasi Sportsbooks have been having a tough year - but the Paul-Joshua fight was a good night for the house American boxer and social-media influencer Jake Paul (left) and British boxer Anthony Joshua fight in a nontitle heavyweight bout in Miami on Dec. 19. Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in the sixth round of their heavyweight fight on Friday night, but the real loser wasn't Paul - it was most sports bettors. Several sportsbooks reported that the betting public was backing YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul at a lopsided rate leading up to the boxing match, which was broadcast on Netflix (NFLX). The day before the fight, a massive 86% of all money wagered on the Paul-Joshua match was bet on heavy underdog Paul, according to data from DraftKings Sportsbook (DKNG) sent to MarketWatch. Paul closed as a +1000 underdog, meaning a $100 bet on him would have netted a $1,000 payout profit. A bet on Joshua, a -1600 favorite, would have netted a bettor just $6.25 in profit. DraftKings stated that it had a $100 million liability at stake if Paul beat Joshua. See: Logan Paul's $5.3 million Pokémon bet raises a bigger question: Do collectibles belong in your portfolio? Bettors were backing the mercurial and less experienced Paul with hopes for a big payday - dreams that were crushed when Joshua beat Paul handily. The sportsbooks, on the other hand, rejoiced. "This was a marquee event and we had a significant liability on Jake Paul," Johnny Avello, director of sports operations at DraftKings, wrote to MarketWatch in an email. "We were happy with the outcome - the book fared well, and it was great to see such strong interest in boxing." 'Hopefully that's not the end for Jake Paul fighting because, win or lose, he has been great for business.'Alex Rella, trading manager at BetMGM "Anthony Joshua knocking out Jake Paul was by far the best boxing result of the year for BetMGM," Alex Rella, trading manager at BetMGM (MGM), told MarketWatch. "The public action was soundly behind Paul as the underdog. ... Hopefully that's not the end for Jake Paul fighting because, win or lose, he has been great for business." This was especially important because casual sports bettors overall have been getting the better of the house this year. The 2025 March Madness basketball tournament featured favorites winning at a record 82% rate - a poor outcome for sportsbooks, as fans enjoy parlaying big favorites together for even bigger payouts. In the MLB, sportsbooks also lost big on the Los Angeles Dodgers beating the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2025 World Series. And in the NFL, Bernstein Societe Generale group analysts noted that while high-scoring games and favored teams drive betting interest, those contests have been unfavorable lately and can cost sportsbooks millions. FanDuel notably took a $74 million loss on a regular-season game between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers last December, in which the favored Lions won 40-34. Prior to the Paul-Joshua fight, that aforementioned string of unfortunate results was so large that some sportsbooks adjusted their Ebitda guidance during quarterly earnings. In addition to many casual bettors, at least one high-profile celebrity took a huge loss after backing Jake Paul this weekend. Rapper Drake posted on social media that he wagered $200,000 (to win $1.6 million), and told Paul to lock in for the fight. The main event had an estimated average minute audience of 33 million live viewers globally, according to VideoAmp and Netflix. So what did the fighters have to say? "It took a little bit longer than expected but the right hand finally found its destination," Joshua said after the match. "Jake Paul's done really well tonight. I'm going to give him his props. He got up time and time again. I give Jake the respect for trying and trying. He came up against a real fighter tonight." Paul later reported that his jaw was broken in two spots. "I gave it my all," Paul said. "Anthony is a great fighter and I got my [rear end] kicked but that's what this sport is all about. But I'm going to come back and keep winning." See: Here's how much money Heisman Trophy winner Mendoza - and finalists Pavia and Love - made from NIL deals It's not clear how much money the two fighters made from their latest bout, but Paul appeared to allege the payout was in the nine figures. "Stop asking me," Paul wrote in an X post before the fight. "$267 million." The fight was the latest example of Netflix's foray into live sports. The streaming giant now has deals with MLB, WWE, FIFA and the NFL, plus some combat sports. Paul's previous fight against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November 2024 drew 108 million viewers on Netflix - making it the most-streamed global sports event ever, according to the company. The next big Netflix live sports event will take place on Christmas Day with a triple-header of NFL matchups - featuring the Dallas Cowboys versus the Washington Commanders, the Detroit Lions against the Minnesota Vikings, and the Denver Broncos versus the Kansas City Chiefs. See also: The Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight was a payday for more than just the winner -Weston Blasi This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 12-27-25 1519ET