Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions has set May press conferences for its July 20 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight, a day after the event was sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations as an official professional fight.
The Netflix-distributed fight, pitting the 57 year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) against the 27 year-old YouTube star Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) will count against both fighter’s records, according to fight promoter Most Valuable Promotions. The company said will hold press conferences for the fight in New York on May 16 and in Arlington, Texas on May 16.
The fighters will box eight, 2-minute rounds – traditional pro fights are usually 3 minutes – and the boxer’s gloves will weight 14 ounces instead of standard 10 ounces, according to reports.
Yes it's a real sanctioned fight with @jakepaul#PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/7HGnyYGlcsApril 29, 2024
Tyson hasn’t fought in a sanctioned professional fight since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005. Tyson also fought an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, which drew a reported 1.6 million PPV buys.
Netflix will stream live the Paul-Tyson fight to its subscribers without any additional cost. It's the latest move by the streaming service into the live sports streaming arena, following its distribution last November of the Netflix Cup golf tournament pitting Formula 1 drivers against professional golfers, as well as the March 3 Netflix Slam tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
