How a Boxer Turned Defeat into a Marketing Win

If you’re into boxing, you definitely know who Mike Tyson is. He’s not just one of the best boxers of his time, but also one of the greatest in history. Many sports fans would do anything just to meet him or shake his hand. Since he retired in 2005 and only fights in rare matches these days, it’s hard to see him live. But thanks to the internet, you can still enjoy videos of his epic fights.

Today’s post is about one of those fights that many people have slept on. It’s not about Tyson’s amazing punches, but because his opponent did something super clever with his shoes. Or maybe it was his sponsor’s idea.I’m not sure who came up with it, but this marketing trick was just as epic as the fight.

The story is about Julius Francis, a British boxer from the late 1990s and early 2000s. On January 29, 2000, he was scheduled to fight Mike Tyson in Manchester, UK.

By that time, Tyson had a reputation for knocking out his opponents. With 44 knockouts out of 50 fights, it wasn’t much of a mystery that whoever fought Tyson was probably going to end up on the mat. Tyson had an 88% knockout-to-win percentage and was ranked 16th on The Ring magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time and first on ESPN's list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History."

Julius Francis probably knew his chances of winning were slim. So, what did he do? He turned the situation into a clever business opportunity. Francis decided to sell the bottoms of his shoes as ad space to the British newspaper - Daily Mirror.

The idea was simple: every time Tyson knocked him down, the camera would capture the soles of his shoes, which had “The Mirror” logo printed on them.

Pretty genius, right?

During the fight, Francis was knocked down five times, just as many predicted. But instead of just losing, he got paid for every fall because the ad on his shoes was seen by the stadium crowd and millions of people watching around the world.

Here are some fun facts about this brilliant move:

• Francis earned £20,000 from selling the ad space on his shoes, which would be about £37,000 in today’s money with inflation.

• He also made £350,000 for participating in the fight. Today, that’s roughly £645,000.

• Tyson, on the other hand, earned a whopping £30 million for the match, which would be over £55 million today!

Unfortunately, Tyson mismanaged his money and declared bankruptcy in 2003. If he had been more careful, he could’ve lived off his fortune without ever having to work again, instead of taking on fights like Jake Paul’s boxing challenge for money (about £20 million) in 2024 at his age.

Francis, with his £370,000 earnings, could’ve easily retired if he invested wisely back in 2000.

Now, let’s talk about why this shoe ad was such a brilliant idea.

What Julius Francis did was a type of ambient advertising, where ads are placed in unexpected places, like the bottoms of shoes during a boxing match. It’s also an example of guerilla marketing, which uses creative and unconventional methods to make ads stand out.

Honestly, you gotta respect the hustle! The idea was pretty clever if you ask me.

So while Mike Tyson will always be remembered for his incredible boxing skills and all his wins, Julius Francis will be remembered for his creative way of making extra money. Even though he lost the fight, he pulled off one of the most memorable ad stunts in sports history.

Thanks for reading this edition of The Beanstalk! See you next time!