Combination image of social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. The two will fight on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Texas, U.S.A., Netflix announced
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Social media star-turned-boxer Jake Paul will fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on July 20 at AT&T Stadium, Netflix announced Thursday.
The streaming platform will present live protection of the bout between the 27-year-old Paul and 57-year-old Tyson, who hasn’t fought since he took on Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition in November 2020. Paul and Tyson will be the primary occasion of the primary fight sports activities present for Netflix in its current forays into live sports activities manufacturing.
It’s nonetheless unsure whether or not this bout will be staged as an precise professional fight or an exhibition, significantly given the age of Tyson, who will be 58 by July. The specifics nonetheless should be permitted by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which regulates boxing within the state.
Tyson posts exercise movies on social media through which he appears to be like sharp in coaching, however boxing is harmful at any age. The California State Athletic Commission required his bout against Jones to be an exhibition — basically a vigorous sparring session.
Paul constructed a major fan following as a YouTube influencer earlier than he embarked on an expert boxing profession 4 years in the past. He has received 9 of 10 fights with six knockouts against principally undistinguished opponents, together with a number of blended martial artists and a fellow YouTuber.
His solely loss got here final yr to Tommy Fury, the less-accomplished half brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion of the world, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time. Time to put Iron Mike to sleep,” Paul wrote on X, previously Twitter.
“Iron Mike” Tyson was the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987-90. He retired in 2005 after profitable 50 fights, 44 by knockout. His entertaining exhibition bout with Jones was unofficially dominated a draw.
“I’m very much looking forward to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas,” stated Tyson, who was within the crowd in Saudi Arabia final yr when Paul misplaced to Fury. “He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a ‘kid’ can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT. It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him off on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him.”
Paul had his second professional bout on the undercard of the Tyson-Jones fight, knocking out former NBA participant Nate Robinson. His most up-to-date fight was final Saturday, when he stopped journeyman skilled boxer Ryan Bourland.
Paul has step by step raised his stage of competitors lately whereas pursuing his dream of preventing for an actual world title. A bout against the still-revered Tyson would be a sidestep on that quest, however nonetheless his highest-profile stage but.
Paul’s firm, Most Valuable Promotions, is partnering with Netflix to stage the present.
The fight card on the Dallas Cowboys’ house stadium will be the third enterprise into live sporting occasions for Netflix, which staged a golf/auto racing crossover occasion final November. Last weekend, the streaming large held The Netflix Slam, an exhibition tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas.
