Culture Mike Tyson, 57, will return to ring against YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul - Live on Netflix July 20

Former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson will return to the ring against YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul as the thirst for crossover boxing matchups shows no sign of slowing.

The two are scheduled to face each other at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, on 20 July. The fight will air live on Netflix, the streaming platform’s first broadcast of a combat sports event.

Paul is 30 years the junior of the 57-year-old Tyson, and the fight will be the subject of criticism from those who believe such fights degrade boxing’s standing. Few can deny they are lucrative though: Paul earned about $9m from a loss last year to the boxer and reality TV star Tommy Fury. July’s fight is likely to earn both men far more.

Paul rose to fame as a YouTube prankster but he has developed a lucrative career as a surprisingly competent, if limited, boxer. Before his loss to Fury, he had got off to a respectable start to his fighting career, compiling a 6-0 record, although some of his opponents were of debatable quality. Since then he has won his last three fights. Paul said he has further ambitions as he approaches his fight with Tyson.

“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time,” he said. “This will be the fight of a lifetime.”

Tyson, perhaps unsurprisingly, talked up his opponent’s credentials.

“He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a kid can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT,” he said. “It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him.”

The Texas department of licensing and regulation sanctions fights in the state and it is unclear how they will treat a bout involving a boxer who will be 58 by the time the contest comes around. It could go ahead as an exhibition or as an official professional fight.

At his peak, Tyson was the most destructive heavyweight champion of all time, known for his brutal knockout power. His last fight – an exhibition – came in a draw against another former world champion, Roy Jones Jr, in 2020. Paul fought on the undercard of that bout, knocking out the former NBA star Nate Robinson. Tyson’s last professional fight was in 2005, a loss to the Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.

Netflix has been moving into sports in the last few years, most notably with its successful F1 documentary series Drive to Survive. It has broadcast two live sporting events in recent months: the Netflix Slam, a match between Spanish tennis stars Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal; and the Netflix Cup which featured golfers and F1 drivers competing against each other.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/07/mike-tyson-jake-paul-boxing-fight-netflix-date-cowboys (Archive)

 

[GPRIMACADO]

RIGGED ASS BS

I saw 10, 10! Chances for his signature uppercut.

 

[Akran]

That was not worth watching at all, Paul just kept his distance and neither did much

 

[Grundlejungle]

Fight sucked. My disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

 

[HodgePodgeRogerDodger]

Guy fought like a ol lion, a bit sad, but it's a fucking 60 year old man.
He's a fighter.
If he was 10 years younger, I don't think Logan would win.

It’s impressive that Tyson could compete. Up until the 5th round Tyson dominated, after that he got winded.

Paul was scared, but eventually remembered that Tyson has a bad knee and is free to get out of Tyson’s range via that leg.

 

[MadStan]

Fuck Netflix. Data drag so bad I had to in and out 10 times and missed most the fight. Fucking sucks. And what I did see if it was embarrassing. This was no fight, it was a sparring session. The earlier fights were 100 times better than this “main event”. This fight utterly sucked ass.

Booooooooooo!!!

 

[Tor Lugosi]

the senior citizen lost

what a surprise

 

[Dumbledore's Onlyfans]

That was just depressing, I'm sad now. Fuck Jake Paul for promoting this.

 

[quaawaa]

Tyson's punches had power behind them. Paul just ran in circles occasionally tapping him.

 

[DapperShark]

Yeah that was just sad to watch, at least Tyson didn't go down.

 

[ChrisIsGay]

Massive respect to Jake Paul for putting that disgusting rapist in his place. Unbelievable how many retards thought a 58 year old nigger was going to win.

 

[Mr. Zed da Robot Poon Fed]

I couldn't finish because Netflix is gay and can't keep up with its bandwidth issues.

Will have to watch later. The memes on X are funny, though.

 

[spinal gas chamber]

Alarm clocks for me but Tyson got paid and just mailed it in. 30+ year difference I get it - but fucking Mike Tyson vs a YouTuber. This was sad.

 

[robobobo]

Yeah, I'm finding it sus. Tyson barely ever even swung at the guy.

 

[p0e]

View attachment 6651039

netflix is going to do WWE raw and football now, wonder how shitty that'll be

 

[Dumbledore's Onlyfans]

netflix is going to do WWE raw and football now, wonder how shitty that'll be

They better upgrade their damn server.

 

[Tor Lugosi]

"How do you feel about your legacy?"
"I'm gonna die and it's gonna be over."

 

[PhoBingas]

netflix is going to do WWE raw and football now, wonder how shitty that'll be

Sportsball has way more people that watch over boxing. If netflix can barely handle pay per view boxing, their servers will burst into flame if they have to deal with the tens of millions of footballs fans and the other netflix users.

 

[GPRIMACADO]

Oh yeah. RIGGED as FUCK

 

[Bolo_the_Second]

I dunno if Mike Tyson was running out of money or just wanted another mansion. They better pay him for this shit.

He got 20 million, Tyson is fine.

The fight went the way it naturally would, Paul might have some heavy hands, but he isn't a boxer, so he just jabbed his way around Tyson and kept out of his range, which is easy when your opponent is 30 years older than you.

Tyson couldn't get in, gassed out and Paul punched his points in. But Tyson also ate some heavy shots, the man has a chin alright.

Otherwise, I feel silly to have watched this and thinking anything interesting would happen, because I'm one of those retards that secretly thought he would see a glimpse of the old Iron Mike and knock out Paul, like a crappy Rocky movie.

Still, I don't feel bad for Tyson because he isn't a child, he knew what he was getting into and used his legacy to make money out of this influencer doofus nor I think this is "sad" because this wasn't really boxing or a competition for that matter, it was just a rich kid indulging himself.

But I do think the novelty of Paul's boxing is wearing off. This got massive because of Mike Tyson and the legend behind his name, but I think this is it for this gimmick. Paul might fight another big name from the past whowants to make a ridiculous amount of cash out of his fights, but the public might be over it.

Also, it is useless to wonder if Paul is going to fight someone who can actually box and isn't twice his age, that isn't going to happen, the man isn't a boxer and he isn't going to put himself in a position to be humiliated.

Again, I feel silly to have watched this, Should have known better, but what can I say, sometimes the grift is too good to look away.

 

[POWER IN MISERY]

the last boxing match ever has been a real show