Mike Tyson, considered one of the fiercest and most dangerous boxers of all time, undisputed heavyweight champion, returns to the ring 19 years after his last official match… to fight Jake Paul, a YouTuber.
The Paul vs Tyson boxing match, organized by Netflix, generated a lot of attention, but also misunderstanding. The age difference is huge, Paul is 27 and Tyson is 58, and even though he is retired, he has trained a lot for this fight. Has Paul lost his mind?
Well, even though Jake Paul (born 1997) is more famous thanks to YouTube, he is not a beginner and has been boxing professionally for almost five years now. Paul first became known to the general public on the now defunct social network Vine, before opening his YouTube channel in 2014.
Due to his popularity, he was hired by Disney for the series Bizaardvark, which aired on the Disney Channel. He was fired after one season… due to his unpopularity: one news report cited his neighbors' complaints about the noise his parties and pranks generated.
Controversy surrounded him everywhere, much like his older brother Logan Paul. His 2017 single “It's Everyday Bro” became one of the most unloved YouTube videos of all time. That didn't stop them from becoming two of the richest internet personalities of all time.
Jake Paul's boxing career is surprisingly good
While Logan Paul joined wrestling, Jake Paul began a boxing career. In 2018, he made his boxing debut by fighting another YouTuber, and winning by technical knockout. His first professional match took place in January 2020. He started fighting former boxers or UFC fighters, but his rivals became more and more professional.
During a 2023 fight against professional boxer Andre August, he claimed that “Up until now, my entire boxing career has been on PPV (pay-per-view), but now it's about more than business. Now I want to build my experience in the ring.”
Logan's statistics are impressive: 11 official fights, 7 victories by knockout, and only one defeat by split decision against professional boxer Tommy Fury. Will he measure up to Mike Tyson? We'll have to wait to find out: the fight is broadcast on Friday, November 15 (already Saturday at dawn European time) and will be broadcast live by Netflix around the world.
