Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul

Netflix Boxing Special Friday 15th November

This fight in Texas is certainly one of the more unexpected fights of recent years as we see 58 year old Mike Tyson make his way back into the ring to take on social media influencer Jake Paul on Friday evening. It certainly is not a fight for boxing purists and it has generated much controversy.

However, it certainly has also generated significant interest and Netflix are set to cash in on the event. The fight will also be officially recognised and will appear on both fighters’ records, giving it an air of legitimacy. Much has been made of Jake Paul’s career so far, but he has beaten 10 of his eleven opponents so far whereas Tyson comes with a reputation as one of the best ever.

This fight will be the debut for Jake Paul at heavyweight and he will be going up against a former undisputed champion. There is surely only a handful of boxers who can match the fame and hype of Mike Tyson and his career speaks for itself.

‘Iron Mike’ as he is known, acquired his first belt at the age of 20 when he knocked out WBC Champion Trevor Berbick and he went on to add the WBA and IBF belts to his collection. He was, therefore, the first fighter to hold all three belts at once. He won two of those belts again later in his career before he eventually retired with a record of 50-6. It is worth noting that 44 of Tyson’s 50 wins were delivered by KO or by TKO and his last win of note was in 1996, a year before his opponent in this fight was even born. 

Jake Paul first stepped into the boxing ring in 2018, taking on another social media influencer by the name of Deji Olatunji, a fight he won. He has fought other social media personalities whereas his only loss came against British fighter Tommy Fury in February 2023, the only time he has fought an actual professional boxer so far. Four of his wins have come on points but his last two were wins by Technical Knockout. His last fight took place in July of this year, a round six win over Mike Perry. 

Speculation has certainly been all over the place when it comes to this matchup. No one quite knows what a 58 year old version of Mike Tyson is going to look like, especially since he had a health issue back in May.

Jake Paul has only really fought exhibition fights so far, so it is hard to judge genuine talent. Experts and pundits are offering differing opinions on who might win the fight with Bob Arum backing Paul and the likes of former champion Lennox Lewis and another former pro fighter Buster Douglas, who beat Tyson, believing it will be an easy win for Tyson. 

The fight has been sanctioned with modified rules, there will be eight rounds of two minutes each and both fighters will use heavier 14 ounce gloves.

Jake Paul is the favourite to win the match, given the age of Mike Tyson. Odds are currently around 1.25 for Paul to win with various options of the type and time of stoppage. A price hovering around 3.0 is available for anyone wanting to back Mike Tyson to win.