There will also be a co-boxing match on 20 July in the same stadium: Amanda Serrano against Katie Taylor Will. You can also watch this women’s boxing match exclusively on Netflix.

What are the rules of the Jake Paul Vs Mike Tyson match?

The fight between Tyson and Paul counts as a professional fight. However, the two opponents will fight with heavier gloves (14 ounces instead of 10 ounces) and shorter rounds (only 2 minutes per round instead of 3). As usual, there is a one-minute break between rounds. The fight will last eight rounds.

But neither fighter wants to be responsible for these changes, as USA Today reports. Paul claims that the changes were Tyson’s wishes and that Paul agreed to everything. However, Tyson’s spokeswoman contradicts this. According to her, the two-minute rounds were suggested to Tyson and he then agreed to them. As Paul would then have less time to walk around.

The gloves are said to be unusually heavy at 14 ounces (396.89 grams), 10 ounce gloves (283.50 grams) would be considered the typical ones used. The larger/heavier gloves are better padded and therefore better protect the health of both opponents. This makes knockout victories more difficult. But in this case, a knockout is the goal. There is no head protection.

Observers see the reduction of the round duration from 3 to 2 minutes as favourable for the much older Tyson. On the other hand, the heavier and thicker gloves protect Paul from Tyson’s dreaded heavy punches.

For a long time, it was unclear whether the fight between Tyson and Paul would be a real professional fight (as Paul told USA Today) or just a show fight (as Tyson claimed). But on 30 April 2024, the decision was made in favour of a professional fight. The fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul will therefore be categorised as a professional fight, as USA Today reports. Victory or defeat will be added to the respective professional statistics of the two boxers.

Unlike other boxing matches, there are no judges. Victory is therefore by knockout. Otherwise, the boxing match ends in a draw.

Who are the opponents?

Mike Tyson

The now 57-year-old Tyson (born in 1966) has not fought since he took on Roy Jones Jr. in a show fight in November 2020, which ended in a draw (Jake Paul boxed against Nate Robinson in an undercard fight at the time). Tyson will be 58 years old on 30 June. Tyson has won 50 of his 58 professional fights, 44 of them by knockout. Tyson is 178cm tall and has a reach of 180cm, his boxing style was very aggressive (“Iron” Mike), whereby Tyson was very agile in his best times to avoid opponent punches.

Unlike his challenger, Tyson collected world titles from all three world organisations. Tyson’s impressive sporting career was always overshadowed by scandals, be it allegations of rape (a court sent Tyson behind bars in 1992) or grossly unsportsmanlike behaviour. In the famous fight against Evander Holyfield, Tyson bit off a piece of his opponent’s right ear.

Boxing legend Mike Tyson confessed in an interview with Fox News that he was scared to death of his fight with Jake Paul. But the closer the fight gets, the less nervous he is. “Because it’s reality. And in reality, I’m invincible”, explains Tyson with his somewhat idiosyncratic logic. Tyson would train every day and, according to media reports, he is considered extremely well prepared. He doesn’t think that the much younger Paul is faster than him.

Jake Paul

Jake Paul is 27 years old, 30 years younger than Tyson. Paul has won nine out of ten professional fights, six of them by knockout. However, Paul has won against rather insignificant opponents and has not yet won a single title. So Paul is by no means a boxing icon, but a video producer and actor who decided to box in 2018. Paul has been a professional boxer since 2020.

Paul boxes in the cruiserweight division, which is below heavyweight. Tyson, on the other hand, was a champion in the heavyweight division. Paul is 185cm tall and his reach is given as 193cm.

Why are the two boxing against each other at all?

So a 58-year-old – at the time of the fight – multiple former champion is boxing against a 27-year-old untitled newcomer. But why? Well, the answer is simple: Because there’s a lot of money at stake.

What is the prize money?

There is talk of 300 million US dollars, possibly even more. However, the amount of the prize money has not yet been officially announced, the 300 million is a figure provided by Paul. It is also not known exactly how much will be paid to the winner and how much the loser will receive.

Tyson tries to prove his fitness by posting clips from his training sessions on his Instagram profile.