
Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson hopes to shake the ring rust as he takes on internet personality-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul in a boxing match that will be aired on Netflix this July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The 57-year-old Tyson, who settled for a draw against Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match last November 2020, has not had a pro fight since 2005, where he was stopped in two straight before retiring. He’s taking on Paul, who currently holds a professional record of 9-1 (win-loss) to go along with six knockouts.
Most Valuable Promotions business partner Nakisa Bidarian assured fans that the fighters would not wear any headgear for the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight. Since his impressive knockout debut against internet celebrity Deji in 2018, Paul has not fought in headgear.
As a professional, Paul has recorded notable victories against former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) superstars Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and three-time National Basketball Association (NBA) Slam Dunk champion Nate Robinson.
Paul is coming off back-to-back first-round knockout victories against Andre August and Ryan Bourland, respectively. In his 10-fight pro career, Paul has only tasted defeat once, losing via split decision against English prizefighter Tommy Fury last year.
This will not be the first time Paul and Tyson are on the same boxing card together. Paul fought in a co-main of the pay-per-view event that saw Tyson fight an exhibition match against Jones Jr. in 2020. During that event, Paul scored a vicious second-round knockout over Robinson to register his second professional win.
While Tyson has a more accomplished boxing resume, having fought 58 times professionally, he comes into the match as a massive underdog against the 27-year-old Paul. Currently, online betting sites such as Bet365 have Tyson pulling off an upset at 11/8, while a Paul victory is priced at 4/7.
Tyson, who made a rousing start to his professional boxing career to become the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20, will turn 58 three weeks before fighting Paul. Iron Mike was also the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the International Boxing Federation, World Boxing Championship (WBC), and World Boxing Association (WBA) titles in 1987.
His reign as a unified champion came to a screeching end in 1990 when Buster Douglas defeated him in one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history. Tyson briefly recaptured the WBA and WBC crowns in 1996 before losing twice to Evander Holyfield in a drama-filled boxing match that involved the former biting the latter’s ear off.
It is still being determined if the fight will be sanctioned professionally by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation or go ahead as an exhibition bout. Tyson’s last professional bout was against Irish pug fighter Kevin McBride in June 2005, where he found himself in the back end of a stoppage loss.
During his 58-fight professional career, Tyson has recorded 50 wins and six losses, with 45 wins coming from stoppages, including knockout victories against legends such as Donovan Ruddock, Carl Williams, Michael Spinks, and Tyrell Briggs. His last knockout victory came in February 2003, when he stopped American boxer Clifford Etienne in the first round.
Like Paul, Tyson has fought in exhibition matches, battling the likes of Anthony Davis, James Tillis, Corey Sanders, and Jones Jr. He is 0-0-1-3 (win-loss-draw-non-scored) in exhibition boxing matches.
The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson superfight will open its curtains on July 20, with the start time expected to be announced soon. It will be available to stream on Netflix in the United States and the United Kingdom. The undercard bouts for the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight have yet to be determined and will be announced later.
Bet365 has some exciting betting bonuses and offers for the upcoming Tyson-Paul bout. Players can redeem a welcome offer of up to £30 in bonus funds to add to their bankroll for this fight by simply signing up and depositing £10 today. The event is a significant step in Netflix’s move into live sports-adjacent programming, which has the potential to attract large audiences without the financial obligations that streaming games from professional leagues require.
It can be recalled that Netflix has been making an aggressive step into live sports the past few months when it streamed the Netflix Cup, which pitted a competition between Formula 1 drivers and golfers, and the Netflix Slam event, which featured pro tennis players and Grand Slam winners Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal.
Users must be 18+. If you are having trouble with gambling then help and advice can be found at begambleaware.org. Please Play Responsibly.
Trading financial products carries a high risk to your capital, especially trading leverage products such as CFDs. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.