Sports
Mike Tyson to battle Jake Paul in heavyweight bout


Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson’s will fight against YouTube sensation Jake Paul in Dallas.
The July 20 fight was announced by fighters and promoters on Monday.
The fight will be over eight two-minute rounds with the result to count on the record of both Paul and Tyson, who lost his last official bout in 2005.
Tyson, 50-6 with 44 knockouts, has not won a fight since beating Clifford Etienne in 2003.
There had been concerns over sanctioning anything more than an exhibition due to the age difference of the fighters. Paul is 27. Tyson turns 58 on June 30.
“Mike Tyson wanted it to be a pro fight. Netflix wanted it to be a pro fight. So I agreed to make it a pro fight. Winner takes all,” Paul posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The bout will be at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in an X post.
“Over the past six weeks we have worked with our partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs Tyson.”
Tyson won his first heavyweight world title in 1986 and became undisputed champion in 1987, nearly 10 years before Paul was born.
After a stunning upset loss to Buster Douglas in Tokyo in 1990, Tyson made a comeback in 1996 to win a world crown before losing the title to Evander Holyfield.
Tyson lost to Britain’s Lennox Lewis by eighth-round knockout in Memphis in 2002 in his last world title bout. He beat Etienne in 2003 but lost in comeback bids to Danny Williams in 2004 and Kevin McBride in 2005 at Washington, where he announced his retirement after the fight.
Paul is 9-1 with six wins by knockout, his most recent victory came last month in Puerto Rico where he stopped Ryan Bourland after 2:37 of the first round.
The American’s only loss came to Britain’s Tommy Fury in an eight-round split decision in February 2023 in Saudi Arabia.
-
National News2 days ago
Ireti Kingibe describes Nigerian youths as grumblers
-
Politics2 days ago
Harassment: Akpabio backs out of Tinubu’s panel to investigate Natasha’s claim – Group
-
Politics2 days ago
Abia 2027: Alex Otti’s hometown king honours, endorses Henry Ikoh
-
Politics2 days ago
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed speaks on Peter Obi, Kwankwaso presidential ambition
-
Politics14 hours ago
‘Big incentive to indigenous producers,’ Ndume backs Tinubu’s ban on foreign goods
-
Politics15 hours ago
Breaking: Kwankwaso no longer attractive in Kano, minister rejects ex-gov’s defection
-
National News2 days ago
Breaking: Free VDM protest begins in Abuja
-
Crime and Law2 days ago
Breaking: Shock as EFCC denies involvement in VeryDarkMan arrest reports