YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions announced on Thursday.
Paul, 27, and Tyson, 57, will battle July 20 at the Dallas Cowboys’ home, AT&T Stadium, in a bout that will air on Netflix.
“I’m stepping up to face Tyson .. to see if I have what it takes to beat one of boxing’s most notorious fighters and biggest icons,” Paul said in a statement.
Tyson, once the youngest heavyweight title holder at age 20 and considered one of the greatest knockout artists of all time, offered praise for his relatively green foe, who has fought professionally for just four years.
“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,” Tyson said, referring to his standing in boxing history.
Paul (9-1, 6 KO’s) noted that the second fight of his transition from social media personality to the ring ― a knockout of former NBA player Nate Robinson ― was on the undercard of Tyson’s exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) has not fought in an official pro bout since 2005, ESPN reported. He lost his final two matches. At that time he was already long removed from his reign as undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990. He regained two title belts in 1996.
Paul has defeated several UFC veterans who converted to boxing and recently scored first-round knockouts of boxers Andre August and Ryan Bourland. His lone defeat was to Tommy Fury in Feburary 2023.
Organizers have yet to determine whether the Paul-Tyson fight will be official or an exhibition, the sports network added.
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