Mike Tyson returns to the ring for a “wacky fight” against ex-youtuber Jake Paul

Nearly twenty years after his final professional fight, Mike Tyson puts on the gloves again. At 58 years old, the former ring glory, who ended his career in 2005, is on the bill for an evening of English boxing organized Friday, November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (around 5 a.m. Saturday morning, Paris time). The former world heavyweight champion challenges a man thirty-one years his junior: Jake Paul, Internet star – with 20 million subscribers on the YouTube platform – who became a professional boxer in 2020.

Although he has a record of nine wins and one loss, most of the 27-year-old videographer's fights have been against former MMA glories – mixed martial arts – which are largely in decline. The only one to have beaten him? An opponent from the noble art: Tommy Fury, half-brother of the British Tyson Fury.

Initially scheduled for July 20, the duel between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was postponed due to the state of health of the former, victim of an ulcer in May. And this exhibition worries specialists. “It’s a kind of sparring session [combat d’entraînement] glorified, as the Americans call itcomments Baba Diagne, consultant for RMC Sport. Mike Tyson is not in a position to fight a professional fight, he is putting himself in danger. »

Although the 50-year-old obtained a professional license from the Texas Athletic Commission, the rules were changed due to the age gap between the two pugilists. Instead of twelve three-minute rounds, Friday's duel will be fought over eight two-minute rounds to spare Mike Tyson's cardio. Their gloves will also weigh more to reduce the power of blows.

“Boxing has always been a business”

A former glory who returns to the ring to face a YouTuber turned boxer, the recipe is not new. In 2021, former French Olympic champion Brahim Asloum spoke out against “masquerade” of these exhibition matches, which only have any connection with the noble art “the fact of having [lieu sur] un ring ». But it is clear that these types of events attract – starting with sponsors.

Despite its lack of sporting interest, Friday's duel is supported by Netflix – with the help of Jake Paul's promotion company, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) -, which will exclusively broadcast, for the first time, a boxing fight . To keep spectators excited, a three-episode mini-series, Countdownwas put online on the streaming platform. The program, which relates the preparation of the two men for the deadline, is currently one of the three most viewed series in the United States.

At the announcement of this fight, criticism arose, in particular at the idea of ​​authorizing a veteran, close to sixty, to take up the gloves – even if Mike Tyson had already fought, in 2020, against another fifty-year-old Roy Jones Jr, during a gala evening. “The problem with this fight is Mike Tyson. It's bound to attract an audience, but it encourages the next fighters to prolong their careers unnecessarily for a big check. It’s dangerous for their health and it shows a bad image of boxing,” is sorry Baba Diagne.

A big check for each participant

According to the Spanish newspaper Markthe two men are expected to pocket a check for $40 million. For comparison, at the height of his fame, “Iron Mike” pocketed $30 million during his legendary fight against Evander Holyfield in 1997, during which he bit his opponent's ear. “Boxing has always been a business, recalls Jean-Charles Aivadian, creator and host of the Boxe Attitude YouTube channel. Promoters ask themselves: “How to make the most money?” So there have always been crazy fights, like when Mohamed Ali faces the wrestler Japanese Antonio Inoki [en 1976]. There is often this crossover between different disciplines to find out who is the best. Jake Paul has understood these codes and wants to make boxing real entertainment. »

For Jean-Charles Aivadian, the Tyson-Paul duel will be “probably the most watched in history”. The opportunity for the other posters of the evening, also broadcast on Netflix, to benefit from this spotlight. Among them, the rematch between the Irish super-lightweight world champion, Katie Taylor, and the Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano, who has been part of Jake Paul's promotional company since 2021. The YouTuber and businessman had organized the first clash between the two women – won by Katie Taylor – in 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

« Jake Paul's promotion company is carrying the eventreminds Baba Diagne. Son combat [contre Tyson] has a dual objective: to give it a new image, because it is often discredited in view of previous fights, but also to make Amanda Serrano's fight visible. » It remains to be seen what the match between the former icon of the noble art and the pro neoboxer from the Internet will look like.