Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul to be sanctioned, professional fight

The July 20 fight between YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson will be classified as a professional bout sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations.

The heavyweight showdown will take place over eight 2-minute rounds, with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves. The result will affect their professional boxing records.

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul committed to fighting with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional bout that would have a definitive outcome,” Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, said in a statement to ESPN. “Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) requirements to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and we are grateful to have reached this point. ” Since the announcement of the fight, which will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and be streamed on Netflix, questions have been raised about what rules would be applied, given that the two fighters are more than three decades apart of age.

Tyson, 57, has not won a professional boxing match since a knockout victory over Clifford Etienne in February 2003. He fought professionally twice after scoring his 50th victory, but was stopped by Danny Williams in 2004 and Kevin McBride in 2005.

By the time Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) steps into the ring on July 20, he will be 58 years old. Paul will be 27.

This 31-year age gap will be the largest in professional boxing history, eclipsing the 24-year gap between Archie Moore (49) and Mike DiBiase (25) when they met in 1963. Moore defeated DiBiase by third-round TKO, but he was also very active, fighting four times at age 48 before ending his career at age 49.

Tyson has not competed as a professional since he was 38 years old. In 2020, he met Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition. Tyson exceeded expectations in the fight, which ended in a split draw but fell short of his professional record.

Paul’s sudden rise in combat sports began when he knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson on the Tyson-Jones undercard. Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) has since become a fixture at big-money events, during the recent wave of crossover boxing matches, with wins over former UFC stars Tyron Woodley, Ben Askren, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz.

Paul has redirected his energy towards more experienced boxers, after suffering a decision defeat to Tommy Fury in 2023, with the aim of being ranked by a sanctioning body and possibly fighting for a world championship. He followed the traditional boxing trail for two fights – knockout victories over journeymen Andre August and Ryan Bourland – before returning to a fight against Tyson.

The fight will be Netflix’s first foray into combat sports and its third live sporting event overall. In an effort to break streaming records for a live sporting event, the promotion added the highly anticipated rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano for Taylor’s undisputed welterweight championship as a co-main event. The two met for the first time in 2022, with Taylor edging out Serrano via split decision at Madison Square Garden. The fight turned out to be incredibly successful and lit the fuse for the current boom in women’s boxing.