Netflix will continue its march into live sports streaming by stepping into the boxing ring with the distribution of the July 20 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match.
The fight, promoted by Most Valuable Promotions, will take place in Dallas and pits YouTube star and budding pro boxer Paul against the retired 57-year-old former heavyweight and pay-per-view boxing champion Tyson. It is unclear whether the fight will be considered an exhibition or a professional fight.
Tyson’s last professional fight was a loss 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.
Paul has fought 10 times with only one loss, with wins against UFC stars Nat Diaz and Anderson Silva. His last bout was a knockout win over Ryan Bourland earlier this month.
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.
“Mike Tyson is one of the biggest icons in boxing history and Jake Paul is one of the biggest disruptors in boxing history,” Netflix VP, nonfiction sports Gabe Spitzer said in a statement. “Saturday, July 20 will be pure drama in the ring in Texas. We are thrilled to partner with Most Valuable Promotions for this historic event, and we can’t wait for these two to face off for fans all across the world on Netflix.”
