The combat sports world has had a very interesting week with the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney promotions, Ryan capturing marketing tactics on X, Francis Ngannou’s raw confidence to shut down Anthony Joshua, and it just keeps delivering.
In a very surprising turn of events, Jake Paul, the YouTuber turned pro boxer, announced one of the biggest fights to have been scheduled to happen this year: he would be facing Mike Tyson, the veteran boxer himself. This announcement came via Jake’s X account (formerly Twitter), is scheduled to take place in Texas at the legendary AT&T Stadium, on July 20th, and is available to stream on Netflix.
Jake Paul announces AT&T Stadium fight vs Mike Tyson
Jake announced the bout on March 7th, a trailer for which was released by Netflix on the same day.
“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion of the world,” said Jake, referring to Mike’s esteemed run in the sport of boxing and expressing his desire to prove himself.
While the superfight among these megastars brings excitement to the boxing world for many, for boxing fans, this was the last straw for Jake Paul.
Jake, an already controversial athlete in the ever-brutal sport, has developed a very bad reputation for himself since his arrival in the sport.
Now having fought and won against seven retired opponents who have been much older, this is the eighth matchup Jake has announced, having called out somebody who isn’t even active in the sport.
For many (including names like those of Michael Bisping, the UFC Hall of Famer), Jake has time and time again cherrypicked his opponents at the expense of these legends’ already vulnerable health, only to be able to get clout among non-boxing fans who are casual fans of Jake Paul and not the actual sport itself.
When did Mike Tyson last box?
During Tyson’s prime, he was the most dominant heavyweight champion of all time, known for his ridiculous knockout power.
His last fight was an exhibition bout that ended in a draw against another former world champion, Roy Jones Jr., in 2020.
Both Roy Jones Jr. and Mike Tyson share a great deal of respect for each other.
Surprisingly, Jake Paul fought on the undercard of that bout, knocking out former NBA star Nate Robinson back in 2020.
Tyson’s last professional fight was in 2005, a loss to Irish journeyman Kevin McBride, a matchup boxing fans do not like to look back on.
Coming into the matchup with 7 consecutive wins, Kevin McBride had his eyes set on Mike Tyson, a fight that would completely change the trajectory of McBride’s career. Kevin knew that, win or lose, having fought Tyson would be one of the biggest highlights of his career.
On the other corner was a man who needed the fight more than he wanted it.
Mike Tyson, who had previously filed for bankruptcy in 2003, had only fought three times in three years. Tyson lost two out of three bouts to British boxers Lennox Lewis and Danny Williams.
Boxing fans argue that Mike should have retired after the two losses, but Mike had to go onto fight McBride, which ended in a tragic loss for ‘The Iron’.
With the matchup between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson set to happen on a global scale, this will be one of the biggest events boxing has seen. Both Tyson and Paul are expected to make a huge fight purse.
What are your thoughts on Jake’s infamous run in the sport? What would the Mike Tyson fight camp look like? Let us know your thoughts.
