Arguably, the biggest boxing event in recent memory is finally here.
Jake Paul, who rose to fame through social media, is fighting former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday night.
Paul says he got the idea after an ayahuasca retreat, and it finally came to fruition when it was announced back in March.
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The fight was originally slated for July 20, but when Tyson had an ulcer flare-up in May, the fight was postponed four months.
Many may think this is simply a publicity stunt, but the state of Texas is sanctioning this as a professional fight. Meaning, the fight will be on Tyson’s record and will be his first official fight since 2005, a sixth-round TKO loss to Kevin McBride (his bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, where Paul was on the undercard against ex-NBA star Nate Robinson, was an exhibition). Meanwhile, this will be Paul’s third fight of the calendar year.
While it may be sanctioned, there are some tweaks: the fight will be eight, two-minute rounds with 14-ounce gloves.
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The fight is being branded via Paul’s promotion, Most Valuable Promotions, which he and Nakisa Bidarian co-founded in 2021. The promotion helped Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano sell out Madison Square Garden in 2022, and the two will have a rematch as the co-main event on Friday night.
Paul-Tyson will be broadcast on Netflix at no additional charge aside from a subscription, meaning the fight can be broadcast on nearly 300 million televisions worldwide.
Paul enters the fight at 10-1 in his career, with six of his victories coming via knockout. Tyson is 50-6 with 44 KOs.
The two boxers have taken different approaches in the lead up to the fight. Paul is doing what he does best: talk, troll and get people angry. Tyson, meanwhile, has kept his answers short, sweet and very to the point.
At least, that was the case until Thursday night.
Everyone got a pretty nice preview at the weigh-in, as Tyson smacked Paul with an open hand at the weigh in. Tyson even squared up but was held back by numerous personnel before things escalated.
However, in their own respective way, that is how they lock in – and eight months of training will come down to, at most, 16 minutes on Friday.
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