The highly anticipated showdown between Jake Paul and legendary pugilist ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson will be sanctioned as a professional boxing match by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations.
The bout is scheduled to go down on Saturday, July 20 from the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and is set to air live on Netflix to the streaming giant’s 260+ million subscribers.
Per a report by ESPN, the heavyweight clash will be contested over eight two-minute rounds with each fighter utilizing 14-ounce gloves. The outcome will also impact their professional boxing records.
“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.”
Yes it's a real sanctioned fight with @jakepaul#PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/7HGnyYGlcs
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) April 29, 2024
Mike Tyson Will Compete in a Pro Bout for the First Time in Nearly 20 Years
It will be Mike Tyson’s first professional fight since suffering a TKO loss to Kevin McBride in 2005. He has not won a pro bout since a 49-second KO against Clifford Etienne on February 22, 2003. Overall, Tyson is 50-6 with 44 of his victories coming by way of knockout.
Tyson famously knocked out his first 19 opponents before becoming the undisputed heavyweight world champion, claiming the WBC, WBA, and IBF titles.
As for Jake Paul, ‘The Problem Child’ will be stepping inside the squared circle for the 11th time in his boxing career. He carries a record of 9-1 with his lone loss coming against one of the few legitimate boxers he’s faced thus far, Tommy Fury. For the most part, Paul’s boxing record has been padded with wins over ex-MMA stars such as Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, and Nate Diaz.
In his last two appearances, Paul has scored back-to-back knockouts against Andre August and Ryan Bourland.
