The stakes will be surprisingly high for Mike Tyson’s showdown against Jake Paul in July.
The two men announced to their social media pages on Monday that their upcoming fight will be an officially sanctioned professional bout (rather than an exhibition). As a result, the fight will count towards both of their respective pro records.
Yes it's a real sanctioned fight with @jakepaul#PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/7HGnyYGlcs
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) April 29, 2024
Mike Tyson wanted it to be a pro fight. Netflix wanted it to be a pro fight. So I agreed to make it a pro fight. Winner takes all pic.twitter.com/fNLnIiD8fM
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) April 29, 2024
Rudi Schuller of DAZN adds that it will be a heavyweight bout consisting of a maximum of eight two-minute rounds (with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves). Knockouts will be allowed, and the fighters will not be wearing headgear for the bout.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations will be the official sanctioning body for the fight, which is taking place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on July 20.
Paul, a former YouTube star-turned-boxer, has already been fighting professionally for the last several years and owns a record of 9-1 with 6 KOs. But the news of the bout being a professional one rather than an exhibition is especially significant for Tyson, who has not had a pro fight since his RTD loss to Kevin McBride back in June 2005. Tyson later fought Corey Sanders in 2006 and (more recently) Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, but both of those were exhibition bouts. Tyson’s overall pro record remains at 50-6 with two no-contests and 44 KOs.
Fans remain skeptical of the Tyson-Paul fight, especially because of the big age difference (Tyson will be 58 by the time that he steps into the ring while Paul only recently turned 27). But Tyson is taking his training for the bout fairly seriously, and we now know that there will be something greater at stake since it is an official professional fight.
