David Tetreault Made Canelo the Highest-Paid Athlete and Now His Bare Knuckle TikTok Numbers Are Unstoppable

David Tetreault Made Canelo the Highest-Paid Athlete and Now His Bare Knuckle TikTok Numbers Are Unstoppable Alright, so Bare Knuckle Boxing just absolutely **blew the numbers off** TikTok with their first pilot at the Lee Selby show back on June 27th in Cardiff. We're talking the *highest watch time* of any sports platform ever in the history of TikTok live sports. Can you believe that? This ain't some fluke highlight reel, this is a full-blown takeover.

This Ain't Your Grandpa's Boxing Promotion

You gotta understand who's behind this wild ride: David Tetreault, BKB's CEO, is no rookie. The dude's got a resume that makes your head spin. He spent over a decade as a senior marketing executive at 20th Century Fox, pushing studio films and huge sports properties. Then he jumped to Golden Boy for roughly seven years as chief business officer under Oscar De La Hoya, where he helped build stars like Ryan Garcia. And get this, he spearheaded what he calls "the largest ever boxing promotional deal in history," making Canelo Alvarez the highest paid athlete in the world at the time. After a three-year stint at Triller, Tetreault joined BKB early last year, and he's bringing that big-league energy. Tetreault doesn't even see BKB like its rivals. He's not looking at them as just another promotion like Matchroom or Top Rank. Nah, he looks at BKB as a "sports team," comparing them to giants like Manchester United, the LA Dodgers, or the Boston Celtics. His whole approach is "athletes first," signing pedigreed boxers and former UFC and PFL champions. We're talking names like Victor Ortiz, Lee Selby, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and the Vargas brothers hitting the ring on their "Summer of BKB" tour. It's all about the story, too. He's said there's "no way that we can flourish without telling the athlete's stories," which is why an in-house media division and a Bally's-backed prospect series are both in the works.

TikTok Isn't Playing Around

The TikTok success is where BKB is really turning heads. That channel has been absolutely *firing* since the middle of April, already racking up more than 53 million likes. Tetreault is treating TikTok as genuine distribution, not just a place to dump clips. He's putting this deal in rare company, right up there with Fox's FIFA rights, ESPN, and Red Bull. BKB's already got distribution on VICE TV and talkSPORT, and they're pushing for a global presence in the United States, United Kingdom, and a Mexico expansion via Zanfer. What's next for BKB? Tetreault's three-year goal is total mainstream appeal. He wants people tuning in on a Saturday night, selling out arenas, making it a regular thing. But he's clear: "Without the right athletes, the right fighters on that stage, it doesn't happen." Look out for their next event: a September 19 world title card in Mexico, brought to you with Zanfer. And keep an eye out, because BKB's VICE deal expires this year, and talks for a global broadcaster are already underway. This thing is just getting started.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.

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