Initially billed as an exhibition match, the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on July 20 has been sanctioned to be a professional boxing bout. The fight has been sanctioned by Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, confirmed ESPN on Monday (Apr 29). Paul, better known as a YouTuber, also confirmed the news on social media platform X. The fight will be streamed live on Netflix from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It will have eight two-minute rounds with the boxers using 14-ounce gloves.
“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said to ESPN.
“Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point,” he added.
Being a professional fight, the result will affect the record of both Tyson and Paul. Tyson, a former heavyweight champion, has a 50-6 professional record. The 57-year-old had last fought in 2005 and last won in 2003.
Paul, a former YouTuber-turned-boxer, has a 9-1 professional record with most of his wins coming against UFC fighter-turned-boxer opponents such as Ben Askren, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz.
Speaking about his training regime for the fight, Tyson had revealed earlier that he’s practicing abstinence.
“Two and a half weeks, I haven’t smoked,” Tyson told The Damon Elliott Show. “And I haven’t had sex for two and a half weeks.”
“I’m living my life disciplined now, so I’m going to have to fight disciplined now,” he added.
Notably, Marijuana falls under banned substance in the state of Texas, USA.
Speaking on the fight, Tyson also said: “This is a fight. I don’t think he’s faster than me. I’ve seen a YouTube of him at 16 doing weird dances. That’s not the guy I’m going to be fighting.”
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