Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer/boxer Jake Paul will meet on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas as part of a main event card that will air on Netflix.
The event will be Netflix’s first combat sports broadcast and third major sports event, the Netflix Cup, a golf tournament between Formula 1 drivers and PGA Tour players, and the Netflix Slam, a tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
“Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson is a once-in-a-lifetime dream matchup and I expect it to be the most watched boxing event in modern boxing history,” said Nakissa Bidarian, founder of Most Valuable Promotions.
Paul, 27, has 10 professional bouts to his name and a 9-1 record, which includes six knockouts. His most recent fight was a first round TKO of Ryan Borland last Saturday night in Puerto Rico. He recorded a first-round knockout of Andre August in December.
Tyson, who turns 58 in June, won 50 total fights in his career, 44 of them by knockout, and was the youngest heavyweight champion at the age of 20. The last time they fought November 2020 ended in a draw in an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr.
Tyson’s last professional fight came in 2005 when he threw in the towel before the seventh round against Kevin McBride. That match came nearly a year after his fourth-round knockout loss to Danny Williams.
“[Paul has] “He’s grown tremendously as a boxer over the years, so it will be exciting to see what a kid’s passion and ambition can do with Goat’s experience and skills,” Tyson said in a statement. Full circle time that is more than enjoyable to watch; I started my boxing journey under my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish it.
According to ESPN, there is still a question as to how the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation will receive the event given its attention. The question that still needs to be answered is whether the match is a professional fight or an exhibition.