This year’s fight between YouTuber Jake Paul and former world champion Mike Tyson was officially categorized as professional. This means that the result of the fight, which is scheduled to take place in Texas on July 20, will appear on their records. How can a match between an internet boy and a bloody Mike turn out?
The bout will have certain restrictions, including that it can only last eight two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves must be used. As a rule, professional fights are boxed in 10 oz. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation said it conducted a thorough review of Paul and Tyson. It assessed their track record and medical history before approving professional wrestling with “certain exceptions”.
Actions speak for Tyson
Tyson, who will be 58 at the time of the bout and whose professional career ended in 2005, last competed in an exhibition bout in 2020. He will celebrate his birthday just before the bout itself.
Tyson was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles in 1987. However, his reign ended with a shocking defeat by Buster Douglas in 1990, one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. Douglas then not only transferred the heart of a fighter, but also the hunger for a title. He was simply better.
Although he briefly held the WBA and WBC titles in 1996, he then suffered two consecutive defeats at the hands of Evander Holyfield. The second match ended with Tyson being disqualified for biting off a piece of Holyfield’s ear. Tyson’s legal problems also included a rape conviction in 1992, for which he served three years of a six-year prison sentence. In 1999, he served a third of a twelve-month sentence for assault in road traffic.
A deal is on the table
Mike Tyson and Jake Paul agreed to fight each other with the desire to put on such a show in a sanctioned professional rating. The fight should produce a result that will go down in the fighters’ record, said Nakisa Bidarian of MVP Promotions. In order to get in shape, Tyson cut an exhibition match with another former world champion, Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. Jones is a passing offense legend.
Tremors in Texas
The Paul vs. Tyson matchup will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, the 80,000-seat home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
