A soon-to-be 58-year-old Mike Tyson is returning to the ring to battle none apart from loudmouth influencer turned boxer Jake Paul.
Within the countless, fruitless pursuit of content material, the 2 will sq. off in an exhibition match on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas — house of the Dallas Cowboys — reside on Netflix. The streaming platform introduced the exhibition Thursday morning with a promotional teaser and poster.
“It’s crazy to think that in my second pro fight, I went viral for knocking out Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson’s undercard,” Paul stated on Thursday, per TMZ. “Now, less than four years later, I’m stepping up to face Tyson myself to see if I have what it takes to beat one of boxing’s most notorious fighters and biggest icons.”
In his skilled profession, Tyson received 50 of his 58 fights, 44 of them ending in knockout. The once-undisputed heavyweight champion has made exhibition appearances since his retirement in 2005. He most just lately fought four-division world champion Roy Jones Jr. throughout an eight-round battle in 2020. The battle resulted in a draw after going the gap.
Paul’s boxing profession started on celeb circuits, with notable matchups towards YouTuber KSI, former UFC champion Anderson Silva, and former basketball participant Nate Robinson. The Paul-Robinson battle served because the co-feature to Tyson’s exhibition battle towards Jones Jr. In whole, Paul has amassed a 9-1 profession file within the ring, profitable his final two fights by knockout.
“He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a ‘kid’ can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT,” Tyson stated of Paul in a press release. “It’s a full-circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch, as I started him on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones, and now I plan to finish him.”
The transfer additionally alerts Netflix’s continued flirtation with reside sports activities programming. The streaming service has created a powerful foothold within the sports activities trade by its string of docuseries like Drive to Survive, Full Swing, and Final Probability U, but it surely has but to make a critical dent in reside sports activities content material.
Netflix reportedly tried (and failed) to invest in the World Surfing League in 2022. A recent deal with the WWE will put Monday Evening Uncooked reside on the platform in 2025. The group also ran the NFL recap present “Inside the NFL” within the weeks main as much as Tremendous Bowl LVIII through the NFL playoffs.
