In a bid to do some damage to its competitors in the streaming wars by expanding its sports coverage, Netflix is going to put 57-year-old Mike Tyson into a boxing ring this summer at AT&T Stadium in Texas so he can fight 27-year-old Jake Paul in front of 80,000 people. Taking place on July 20, the bout will be exclusive to Netflix and stream live.
“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time,” Paul said in a release. “This will be the fight of a lifetime.”
When he steps into the ring against Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs), Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) would be wise to cover his ears. The rest of us would be smart to cover our eyes because Tyson-Paul is a boxing match no one needs to see.
Mike Tyson Calls Hulu a “Slave Master” for “Stealing” His Life Story in New Series
The former heavyweight boxer has taken to social media to criticize the upcoming show “Mike”In a world where the proposed MMA match of Elon Musk taking on Mark Zuckerberg in Rome at the Colosseum didn’t happen, there’s absolutely no reason why Tyson, who has turned himself from a puncher into a punchline, and Paul, who mainly gets fights because people want to see him get hit in his punchable face, should get in the ring together. They might be willing to do it, but we, the people, don’t need to be willing to watch it. We’re better than that — or at least we should be.
Netflix, which is adding the fight to a collection of sports content that already includes Formula 1: Drive To Survive, Full Swing, NASCAR: Full Speed, Quarterback, Tour de France: Unchained and (in 2025) WWE’s Raw, is gambling that most Americans won’t be able to resist possibly witnessing Tyson use his fists to influence the shape of Paul’s face and, unfortunately, they are probably betting correctly. What a country.
“I’m very much looking forward to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas,” Tyson said. “He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a ‘kid’ can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT. It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him off on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him.”
The co-main event at Tyson-Paul, which has actually been a long time coming, and the undercards for the event will be announced at a later date. Sigh.
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