Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will be facing each other at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas on July 20, as the social media influencer turned celebrity boxer, vowed to put the boxing legend ‘to sleep’.
There is a 30-year age gap between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, with the 27-year-old Paul facing the 57-year-old heavyweight boxing legend. Tyson will be 58 by the time the fight is staged.
The fight, held at the 80,000-seater home of the Dallas Cowboys, will be streamed live on Netflix, who released a teaser video of the event showing Paul stepping out of a helicopter and squaring up to Tyson.
‘I’m very much looking forward to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul,’ Tyson said.
‘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.’
Netflix released a teaser clip showing Jake Paul and Mike Tyson squaring up to announce the fight.
Paul, who won his latest fight against Ryan Bourland on Saturday, wrote on Instagram: ‘It’s time to put Iron Mike to sleep.’
He added: ‘It’s crazy to think that in my second pro fight, I went viral for knocking out Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson’s undercard.
‘Now, less than four years later, I’m stepping up to face Tyson myself to see if I have what it takes to beat one of boxing’s most notorious fighters and biggest icons.
‘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. This will be the fight of a lifetime.’
Tyson, the former heavyweight champion, returned to the ring in 2020 for an eight-round exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr in Los Angeles.
His last professional fight was in 2005 and it is unclear if this bout will be categorized as a professional fight or an exhibition event.
He has also been working with Francis Ngannou, the former UFC fighter who has made a crossover into boxing and was narrowly beaten by Tyson Fury. Ngannou fights Anthony Joshua on Friday but Tyson has not been involved with him for this training camp.
Paul, meanwhile, is 9-1 with six KOs on his crossover from YouTuber to boxer. His one loss was to Tommy Fury, younger brother of Tyson.
Former heavyweight champion Tyson will be 58 by the time he fights the 27-year-old Paul.
He has defeated former UFC stars Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley as well as journeymen such as Andre August and Bourland.
The event also marks another foray into live sports broadcasting by Netflix, which has also streamed ‘The Netflix Cup’ – a golf event between Formula One drivers and golfers – and a tennis event called Netflix Slam.
Netflix has partnered with Paul’s ‘Most Valuable Promotions’ organization to stage the event with Tyson.
Paul said: ‘Within just two and a half years of founding MVP, we’re about to produce the biggest fight in history, a fight in the biggest NFL stadium in the US, broadcast live, on the biggest streaming platform in the world – a testament to all we’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time.’