Mike Tyson wanted it to be a pro fight.
Netflix wanted it to be a pro fight. So I agreed to make it a pro
fight. Winner takes all pic.twitter.com/fNLnIiD8fM— Jake Paul (@jakepaul)
April 29, 2024
The fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul
will be sanctioned as a professional boxing bout by the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulations.
ESPN was first to report the news on Monday.
The heavyweight bout will be contested over eight, two-minute
rounds, and the combatants will use 14-ounce gloves. After the
initial announcement of the fight, there was some question as to
whether it would be an exhibition. Instead, the result will go on
the professional records of both Tyson and Paul.
“Mike Tyson wanted it to be a pro fight. Netflix wanted it to be a
pro fight. So I agreed to make it a pro fight,” Paul wrote on
social media. “Winner takes all.”
Tyson vs. Paul will take place on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in
Arlington, Texas, and will air on Netflix. It is Netflix’s first
time broadcasting a combat sports event and will be the streaming
platform’s third live sporting event overall. The bout will take
place under the Most Valuable Promotions banner, a company owned by
Paul.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) hasn’t fought professionally since 2006, when
he quit on the stool at the end of the sixth round in a loss to
Kevin McBride. More recently, Tyson battled Roy Jones Jr. to a
split draw over eight rounds in an exhibition match in 2020. Tyson
will be 58 years old by the time he squares off against Paul in
July.
Paul, meanwhile, has become a big star in combat sports after
initially making his name as a YouTube personality. His 9-1 boxing
record includes wins over MMA notables such as Ben Askren,
Tyron
Woodley (twice), Anderson
Silva and Nate Diaz.
Most recently, “The Problem Child” vanquished Ryan Bourland via
first-round KO this past March.
The 31-year age difference between Paul (27) and Tyson will be the
largest ever in professional boxing, according to ESPN. Still, both
parties were eager to have their bout sanctioned as a pro
fight.
“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul
signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a
sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive
outcome,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said
in a statement to ESPN. “Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked
with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas
Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs.
Tyson, and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point.”
