Depending on how you look at it, this is either the most predictable or the most surprising “sports” announcement that’s come out in a long time. But yes, it is true, as it has just been announced that Jake Paul is fighting Mike Tyson on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. And it will be streamed live on Netflix.
Paul, who is 30 years the junior of his opponent, has already been scrutinised for making boxing a joke in recent years, but as Dana White has said many times, “Boxing is dead,” and that was before Paul ever stepped into the ring. And whether you like him or not, Paul is bringing eyeballs back to the boxing ring.
“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,” Tyson said about the YouTuber turned fighter. “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.”
Aside from the guaranteed fat paycheck both men will be receiving this can be viewed as a lose/lose situation for both combatants. If Jake Paul beats Mike Tyson, he’ll get called for elderly abuse; if he loses, he got beat up by a washed-up old man. If Mike Tyson – who many consider to be the greatest, most intimidating boxer who ever lived – wins, he beat up an inexperienced YouTuber; if he loses, he got beat up by an inexperienced YouTuber.
But is this a full-blown boxing match? Not exactly, as this is, rather, an “exhibition match”. So what exactly does that mean? Is the fight fixed?
According to former UFC title challenger Chael Sonnen, on a recent podcast episode with Patrick Bet-David, Chael noted that combat sports are the only sports in the US that are government regulated. Why? Because apparently, back in the era of Jake LaMotta and the mafia, boxing became so rigged, so seedy, and untrustworthy, that the government had no choice but to step in and oversee it. Fast forward to today, and those rules still apply.
About three years ago, Mike Tyson fought Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition match, much like Logan Paul fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr, also, in an exhibition match. But as Chael noted on the podcast, after the fighters win, they have to physically step outside of the ring in order to get their hands raised, in turn removing the stamp of being an ‘official boxing match’, i.e., perhaps there is some sort of WWE type rules taking place behind closed doors. Still, that didn’t prevent Dana White from complementing Tyson’s performance, saying, “He looked fantastic.” And that he did.
A former Tyson foe, Evander Holyfield, recently fought former UFC champion, Vitor Belfort, in a boxing match, and if you saw the fight, you’ll know how embarrassing it was for the former boxer. So bad, that Belfort got lambasted online for ‘elderly abuse’, and has struggled to pick up a fight since. And according to Chael, this is a very plausible outcome for Tyson vs Paul, if Paul wins.
Paul has been knocking around retired UFC fighters in the boxing ring for some time now, each win feeding his belief that he is, in fact, a worthy prize fighter. But upon facing his first legitimate boxer Tommy Fury – younger brother to Tyson Fury – Paul was outclassed. But the defeat didn’t last long, and after knocking around another washed-up UFC fighter in Nate Diaz, Paul TKO’d Ryan Bourland just a few days ago, on March 6.
Paul hits hard, no question, and he’s proven to be pretty impressive on the feet. But Mike Tyson is, well, Mike Tyson. He’s also almost 60. But if both men are allowed to juice (take performance-enhancing drugs), then this could actually become very interesting. Still, one must remember that it is an exhibition match, so whether or not that means strings have been pulled behind the scenes, who knows?
This is the first sports event to ever be streamed live on Netflix, and if it proves successful, ESPN could be in for quite a panic at the next board meeting, because, at this point, basically everyone has Netflix.
See you in Dallas.
