Jake Paul, the influencer-turned-boxer whose ever-skyrocketing career in the ring has been the subject of countless debates in the boxing world this decade, has found his next opponent: 57-year-old, retired boxing legend Mike Tyson.
Paul and Tyson—for both of whom there is a case to be made that they are the biggest names of their respective boxing generations—will battle in an exclusive Netflix event on July 20, live from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The fight will be streamed in real-time on Netflix as part of a recent endeavor by the streaming service to focus on programming “sports-adjacent” events and series, as opposed to an all-in strategy on live sports from competitors such as Hulu and Max.
Paul’s boxing career began to boom in the cultural zeitgeist in the early 2020s with high-profile fight after high-profile fight. This decade alone, he’s worked his way up to a 9-1 record, including victories over MMA legends Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz. Most recently, Paul won via first-round TKO over Ryan Bourland this past Saturday, March 2.
Paul’s sole career loss came to Tommy Fury in February 2023, in what was easily the most-viewed, most-purchased pay-per-view event of his career to date. It’s likely, though, that the convenience of Netflix and its already substantially large subscriber base will combine to allow his bout with Tyson to surpass any previous viewership records.
Tyson has not competed in an officially sanctioned boxing match since 2005, and currently, there is no distinction regarding his fight with Paul. It remains to be seen whether the fight will be classified as an exhibition or an officially sanctioned event. Tyson last competed in an eight-round exhibition with then-51-year-old Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 and will turn 58 by the time his next fight arrives with Paul on July 20.
