Social media influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul will fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in a boxing match this summer — and the entire event will air exclusively on Netflix.
The streaming giant announced Thursday that it is partnering up with Most Valuable Promotions to put on a live "mega-event" on July 20 at the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Netflix said the boxing match will be headlined by the 27-year-old Paul and 57-year-old Tyson, who hasn't entered the ring since his 2020 exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr. that ended in a draw.
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Paul's rise to stardom as a social media influencer started in the 2010s when he started posting popular videos on the now-defunct platform Vine and then went on to build a massive following of more than 20 million subscribers on YouTube. It wasn't until 2018 when he decided to pivot his career to focus on boxing and turned pro just two years later.
Paul has gone on to win nine of his first 10 fights — including six wins by knockout — with his only loss coming last year to Tommy Fury, the brother of current heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury. But the social media star has faced criticism over several of his wins, which came against largely unknown opponents in the boxing world and left some critics questioning whether the fights were fixed.
Meanwhile, there's no room for speculations about the validity of "Iron Mike" Tyson's boxing resume.
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Widely regarded as the "Baddest Man on the Planet," Tyson is recognized as ESPN's hardest-hitting heavyweight of all time and became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history in 1986 at just 20 years old. He went on to produce a career record of 50 wins and six losses — including 44 wins by knockout — before retiring in 2005.
"My sights are set on becoming a world champion," said Paul. "And now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time. This will be the fight of a lifetime."
Paul and Tyson are also no strangers to one another. In just his second career fight, Paul appeared on the Tyson-Jones undercard in 2020 when he defeated retired NBA star Nate Robinson by knockout. Just four years later, he'll now step into the ring against one of the most feared boxers in the world — regardless of his age.
"I'm very much looking forward to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas,” said Tyson. “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. It's a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch."
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