FORMER heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is set to return to the ring to face YouTuber Jake Paul in Dallas, Texas on July 20th.
Mike Tyson, 57, will fight the YouTuber Paul, 27, in the 80,000 capacity AT&T Stadium, normally home to the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL and will be streamed exclusively on Netflix.
This will be the first combat sporting event to be streamed on the platform.
‘Iron’ Mike Tyson boasts an incredible résumé from his days as a professional boxer.
Tyson had a record of 50 wins with just six losses, with 44 of those wins being by knockout, as well as being crowned the youngest heavyweight champion of all time in 1986, aged just 20.
He is also famed for biting fellow heavyweight Evander Holyfield in their second fight in 1997.
On the other side of the ring, Jake Paul has had just 10 professional boxing fights, with nine wins, including six wins via knockout, and one loss.
Paul, who has amassed over 20 million YouTube subscribers and 26 million Instagram followers, hasn’t fought fighters of the same pedigree to those of Tyson, with easy knockout wins against the likes of former UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.
His most recent fight was a TKO victory against compatriot Ryan Bourland, who boasts a 17-3 record, an easy win and one in which traditional boxing fans will use to fuel their hatred for influencer boxing.
His toughest fight came against Tommy Fury, younger brother of WBC Heavyweight champion turned reality TV star Tyson Fury, who is ironically named after Paul’s next opponent.
Paul lost the fight against ‘TNT’ Tommy Fury by split decision despite scoring a knock down in the final moments of the fight.
The fight between Paul and Tyson comes as a result of the recent meteoric rise of ‘Crossover Boxing’, a term coined to describe fights between social media stars and professional boxers.
