On November 15th (around 1am on the 16th UK time), Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will square off at the AT&T Stadium in Texas. Eight months after the original announcement, complicated by rule decisions and Tyson suffering an ulcer flare-up, the fight has been given the official go-ahead and will be available live to all Netflix subscribers. Both men are getting paid exorbitant amounts for the fight, with Paul claiming that he will be earning $40 million for the fight (equivalent to about £31 million) and Tyson likely earning around half of that according to MMA fighter Henry Cejudo.
Credit, MMG @ Wikimedia Commons
“The Problem Child” Jake Paul, originally a Vine star and rapper behind much-ridiculed songs such as “It’s Everyday Bro”, now has a 6-year long boxing career racking up a respectable 11 wins, with his only loss coming at the hands of Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia last year. With brother Logan holding the WWE’s United States Championship for 273 days, it seems as if there’s been a Paul brothers invasion in the professional fighting scene.
Credit, Super Festivals @ Wikimedia Commons
His opponent, “Iron Mike” Tyson, is pretty widely considered one of the greatest boxers to ever put on a pair of gloves, renowned for his knockout power and quickness in the ring. He also committed many heinous acts in and outside of the ring, including biting a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear off and serving 3 years in prison for a rape conviction in 1991. His last professional match was in 2005, but his last exhibition match was a 2020 bout against Roy Jones Jr., which ended in a draw.
It’s a classic boxing story – a grizzled old veteran comes back for one last fight against the cocky upstart who seeks to prove his legitimacy in the field. Historically, this hasn’t gone very well for the veterans, such as Evander Holyfield’s return to the sport in 2021. He challenged MMA fighter Vitor Belfort, 10 years his junior, and lost in just under two minutes. The choice of Tyson as Paul’s opponent seems to have been made to utilise his name recognition to entice non-boxing fans to watch, and without the normal barrier of a PPV one-time fee, this looks like it could do great business for Netflix.
At the same time, Paul has been criticised for seemingly avoiding fighting opponents who could give him a solid challenge. Comparing the 27-year old Paul to the 58-year old Tyson, this will be the largest age difference to have ever occurred in a professional boxing match. Factoring in Tyson’s recent health scares, it seems like this fight may be over before it has a chance to properly begin.
In my estimation, the one thing Tyson has that Paul can’t have solidly prepared for is pure punching power. Paul can move faster than Tyson, his body is less stiff, and he has been subject to less wear and tear than Tyson has, but if Tyson drops a few mean punches as quick as he can, Paul will go down and stay there. If the fight goes past the first couple of rounds, I say Paul has the advantage and will likely be able to dexterously wear Tyson out until he can take advantage and win.
Ultimately, whoever wins in the fight won’t affect its aftermath. Paul is not going to gain much boxing cred for beating up a nearly pensioner-aged man, and Tyson has nothing left to prove and can stick to taking acting and advertising gigs for the foreseeable future. It’s an exhibition match in all but name, and as long as everyone involved gets a big paycheck it’s served its purpose.
Depending on how successful the Netflix subscriber-only livestreaming model is, this could drastically affect how large-scale fighting events are distributed to viewers in the future. With WWE also moving most of their premium live content to the service, it seems like the biggest knockout blow delivered on Saturday might be to the traditional pay-per-view model.
