For Netflix, money and boxing: Mike Tyson wants to “kick the ass” of influencer Jake Paul in his comeback

58-year-old Mike Tyson is boxing again. His fight against influencer Jake Paul is more of a show event, but the Netflix broadcast makes it special. Just like the appearance of “Iron Mike”.

Mike Tyson answered the burning question of why with slightly disturbing sentences. “If I win, I’ll be immortal,” said the former boxing superstar with a serious face before his much-discussed return to the ring. “But if I do badly, I don’t want to die in a hospital bed. I want to die in the ring.”

The statements come from a three-part Netflix documentary that serves as an appetizer for the former world heavyweight champion’s fight against influencer Jake Paul, which will be broadcast by the streaming giant. And at least that’s where Tyson delivers. “I could rest,” said the 58-year-old, “but I want to fight this guy and kick his ass.”

Promoter: Most watched boxing event in history

In sporting terms, the duel between the megastar of the 80s and 90s and his 31 years younger rival on Saturday night (around 02.00 a.m./Netflix) is not really to be taken seriously. But the fact that “Iron Mike” is getting back into the ring for an official fight and that the reach and marketing power of Netflix is behind it makes it a mega-event. Paul’s promoter Nakisa Bidarian even predicted “the most watched boxing event in modern boxing history”.

The AT&T Stadium in Arlington/Texas, the stadium of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, will be attended by 80,000 fans. Netflix wants to use the event to test the potential of sports broadcasts. “I think it’s sensational,” Axel Schulz told the German press agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur, “because it brings attention back to the sport. It’s good for boxing worldwide”.

And the fee is right too. Experts assume that Tyson will earn between 50 and 100 million euros as the big drawcard of the act. And that is probably the main reason for his return. Paul said that he would collect the equivalent of around 35 million euros.

Tigers in the villa? That was once upon a time

In his prime, the dazzling boxing star could buy anything he wanted. Even lions and tigers, which Tyson kept in his luxury villa in Maryland.

Tyson once said that he had squandered half a billion US dollars in his life. The extravagant lifestyle, wrong friends, bad decisions – all of this led to financial bankruptcy in 2003. Tyson revealed that he had spent the last million in his account on rehab for his alcohol and drug addiction.

It is somehow typical of Tyson that he recovered financially by investing in a cannabis products company of all things. But the big money is no longer flowing, and the Netflix deal is understandably tempting. But risk your health for it? “I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t risky and I couldn’t embarrass myself,” said Tyson: “I want to overcome my fears.”

Due to his attack of weakness on a plane and the consequences of a stomach ulcer, the fight originally planned for July had to be postponed until the fall. According to media reports, Tyson must undergo a final health check 24 hours before the fight. If there are any doubts, this could lead to a cancellation at short notice. Or the event could be officially downgraded to a show fight.

Speaking of airplanes: in April 2022, a video circulated in which Mike Tyson shows a passenger “where Bartli de Moscht fetches” … It’s not a good idea to provoke a former boxing star.

Tyson cuts a fine figure

Some special rules are already in place to protect Tyson’s health in particular. Boxing only takes place over eight instead of twelve rounds, each of which is only two minutes long. Schulz calls it a “girls’ distance”: “That’s why you can only talk about a show fight.” He even assumes it will be a “prearranged act”, “he won’t tear Jake Paul apart, although he could”.

On the outside, Tyson cuts a good figure. He diligently posts pictures and videos of himself training on his social media channels. His body is well-trained, his punches are powerful, his movements smooth. At his side once again is trainer Rafael Cordeiro, who had already coached him in the show fight against Roy Jones junior in 2020.

Paul talks big

And what makes Jake Paul so interesting for Netflix as Tyson’s opponent? His follower numbers. He has 27 million followers on Instagram and 20.8 million on YouTube. The American, who already had twelve professional years under his belt when Tyson was born, began his career on social media as an influencer and has only been in the ring since 2020. He has not made a big impression in his ten fights. “I’m going to be the new face of boxing”, Paul nevertheless said: “I’m going to teach Mike Tyson how to box.”

Tyson can only smile wearily at such pretentious statements. The man has experienced everything in boxing. The rise to become the youngest heavyweight world champion in history as a 20-year-old. The golden years as champion. The humiliations after defeats such as in 1990 against the blatant underdog Buster Douglas or misfires such as in the 1997 “Bite Fight” against Evander Holyfield. And also the deep fall as an addict and criminal.

But Mike Tyson always got up again. “They say in boxing: a moving target is hard to hit. And that goes for life too,” he said in the Netflix documentary.