Social media personality Jake Paul and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will face off in what some say could be the most-watched boxing event of all time Friday.
The event, which will be live streamed on Netflix, has drawn plenty of attention because of both participants’ celebrity status, but also because of unusual circumstances. Some have called the match a farce and a disgrace to boxing, while others say the publicity is good for the sport.
Paul, 27, a former child star who built a massive following on YouTube in the 2010s, became a professional boxer four years ago.
He trains full-time with top coaches and has taken part in several high-profile novelty matches, but none as big as Tyson.
Tyson, 58, one of the most famous boxers in history, was the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990 and retired in 2005.
On Oct. 19, 1989, Mike Tyson began training for a heavyweight title fight in Edmonton. Sparring partners and the media lined up to get close to ‘Iron Mike.’
He took part in a 2020 exhibition match with Roy Jones Jr. that ended in a draw, but has been plagued by health problems, including sciatica. Friday’s match was initially supposed to take place in July but had to be postponed after Tyson fell ill in May with a bleeding stomach ulcer.
Both fighters stand to earn a big payday.
DraftKings Network estimates Tyson will make $20 million US for the fight, while Paul — who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions, the company partnering with Netflix to promote the event — stands to make double that amount.
Matchup is ‘kind of sad’: former boxer
Spider Jones, a sports journalist and former amateur boxer who is in the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame, says the match is a “sham” and Paul should be challenging top contenders instead of a 58-year-old who has been retired for almost two decades.
“What have we got to in boxing when people will pay this guy millions of dollars to watch him fight somebody that has been over the hill for years?” he said.
Former three-weight world champion boxer Duke McKenzie says he won’t be tuning into Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s fight because he’s not comfortable watching an old champion fight an influencer for entertainment value and nothing else.
“That’s kind of sad when there’s so many fighters out there who give everything to the game and can’t make that kind of money if they try it. And you get a YouTube guy coming in, and he’s getting it all.”
Jones predicts Tyson will take Paul out in the first three rounds, but says if Paul if he can hold out for the initial “hurricane” from Tyson, his significant age advantage could give him the edge.
Either way, he says, “They’re both going to come out winners because of the payday.”
Netflix has dabbled in live streaming before, but this will likely be its biggest live sporting event to date, as streaming services increasingly move into the live sports space.
Host Morgan Campbell is joined by Meghan McPeak and Dave Zirin to discuss their reactions to the Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley fight and whether Jake Paul is good for the sport of boxing.
The main card starts at 8 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with Tyson and Paul expected to make their way to the ring at about 11 p.m. ET.
The fight is scheduled for eight rounds of two minutes each, which is shorter than the three-minute rounds typical of professional men’s boxing. Both fighters will also wear heavier, 14-ounce boxing gloves, rather than the typical 10-ounce gloves.
Fight building excitement in boxing world
Tyler Buxton, president of Mississauga-based United Promotions Boxing, says any publicity is good publicity when it comes to building the sport.
“This is massive,” he said. “Without a doubt it’s the largest boxing event of the year, for sure.”
Buxton favours Paul to win, saying he’s “a much better boxer than people give him credit for.”
Matt Hoffar, CEO of Vancouver-based Empire Boxing Enterprises, says he was “taken aback” when the fight was first announced, but it’s generated a lot of excitement in the boxing world, especially among fans who grew up watching Tyson in his prime.
He said this match has too many variables to pick a winner.
“I’d love to see Tyson come out and show people that boxers have a bit of an upper hand on someone that just started boxing,” he said. “So I think we’re all cheering for that.”