Mike Tyson and Jake Paul Will Square Off on July 20
As the main event of a card set to air on Netflix.
Jake Paul has boxed former NBA players, retired mixed martial artists and even a few journeyman professionals, but his latest match might be his most viral yet. He’s set to throw down with Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on July 20th — a fight that’ll be broadcast live on Netflix.
Tyson, a six-time heavyweight champion with 58 wins and 44 knockouts (24 of which came in the first round) is one of the most feared boxers in history. However, he’ll be 58 years old at the time of the fight, and last boxed Roy Jones Jr. to a draw in a November 2020 exhibition match, which, ironically enough, featured Paul’s second pro fight (against former pro basketball player Nate Robinson) on its undercard. Paul, 27 years old, is three decades Tyson’s junior, with a career record of 9-1 and 6 KOs over his four-year professional career. Since beating Robinson, Paul has topped former UFC stars Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley (twice) before pivoting to fights against journeyman professionals like Andre August and Ryan Bourland, both of whom he knocked out in the first round. His only career loss came at the hands of Tommy Fury, who toppled him via split decision in February 2023.
The fight marks Netflix’s first step into combat sports, after the media company signed a deal with Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) for a boxing card last November. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, a governing body that oversees combat sports in the Lone Star State, has yet to announce whether Tyson and Paul’s match will be classified as an official pro match or an exhibition.
“[Paul has] 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 in a press statement. “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 Jr., and now I plan to finish him.”
“It’s crazy to think that in my second pro fight, I went viral for knocking out Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson’s undercard,” Paul mentioned in his own press statement. “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. 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.”
