The highly controversial crossover bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 20, in what will be Netflix’s first live stream of a combat sports event. Paul vs. Tyson has attracted criticism from fight fans worldwide due to the age gap between the fighters and perceived (lack of) safety towards both men (particularly Tyson). Despite this, the contest is getting people talking and remains a constant in the world of sports news.
Rules for Paul vs. Tyson announced
There has been speculation regarding the rules and stipulations of the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, many of which have now been revealed. We still don’t know if the match-up will be sanctioned as a professional fight, but we now know most of the rules.
Both men will be wearing larger-than-normal boxing gloves, weighing 16 ounces as opposed to the more traditional 10 ounces. The reason for this is probably to protect both fighters. On the one hand, Jake Paul is still very much a novice in the fight game, having fought ex-MMA stars and, for the most part, inexperienced boxers. Tyson is one of the most feared boxers of all time, and he has a history of inflicting devastating knockouts on his opponents. It’s doubtful most of his power remains, given that he is approaching 60 years old, but as the fight itself is so unusual on many fronts, 16-ounce gloves make sense.
Rounds will last just two minutes rather than three, and there will be no ringside judges scoring the contest. Therefore, the only way a winner will be announced is if the fight ends in a knockout, disqualification, or any other form of stoppage. As the rules have been amended and do not reflect a typical boxing match, it’s more likely than not that Paul vs. Tyson will be an exhibition fight rather than a sanctioned, professional bout.
Historically, any fight involving ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson garners huge interest, but the former heavyweight champion of the world is decades past his best. Pay-per-view sales will not concern either Paul or Tyson since their clash is being shown on Netflix. However, the streaming giant will want to see an uptick in subscriber numbers to justify the figures being paid to both men for the fight. Netflix has been very secretive in the past with regard to sharing data around viewing figures, so judging whether or not the fight is a success commercially may prove to be difficult.
Details of the undercard remain non-existent, but we’re still over three months away from the fight. If history repeats itself, it’s likely we’ll see legitimate boxers in action rather than social media stars padding out the card, if previous Jake Paul boxing events are anything to go by. Regardless of the undercard, the main attraction in any Mike Tyson fight is the man himself. The fight will bring in viewers from different generations; Gen Z will tune in to see Paul, Boomers will watch the fight because of Tyson, and Millennials, well, for both.
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