Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on Saturday, July 20th, could be sanctioned as a real professional fight counting in the record books for their match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Tyson Returns to the Record Books
It would be the 58-year-old former unified heavyweight champion Tyson’s first fight since his loss to Kevin McBride on June 11, 2005.
Making the fight a professionally sanctioned bout will make it more serious for Tyson because the YouTuber turned boxer cruiserweight Jake Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) won’t be playing around.
Serious Business for Paul
Jake needs this fight to be real because he plans on continuing his boxing career, and it would look bad if this were an exhibition without hard punches thrown.
Given the two’s age differences, it’s going to look fake if Jake and Tyson don’t load up on their shots with mean intentions, even if it is unsporting.
Jake is making a good living off doing boxing matches, reportedly having already grossed $42 million in his 10-fight professional career.
As such, his clash against Mike Tyson needs to be a real one counting in the record books where both guys are trying to hurt each other because that will give Jake more notoriety moving forward, regardless of the outcome.
He will try to knock out Tyson, who will need to get to the inexperienced, less physically gifted Jake’s chin before he unloads one of his powerful right hands.
Texas Commission Holds the Key
“Is it pro or exhibition? They want pro, but that’s up to the Texas Commission,” Helwani said on his YouTube channel.
If the fight is an exhibition, it’ll likely be another soft spar like we saw with Tyson’s eight-round exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.
That match was unwatchable because both fighters threw light punches and made it clear that they weren’t trying to hurt each other.
There was a lot of complaining by the boxing public that paid to watch the Tyson vs. Jones fight afterward, with many of them feeling ripped off.
Gloves and Headgear: Clues for the Future
British heavyweight Derek Chisora says he’s hearing that Tyson and Jake will be wearing 18-oz gloves and headgear for the fight, which lends to the belief that the match will be an exhibition.
“I know for a fact they are using 18-oz gloves and head guards,” Chisora told Radio Raheem.