The awkward truth behind Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson

A carnival of boxing awaits on Friday in Texas and, as Steve Bunce outlines, the bout between the former heavyweight world champion and the crossover star could leave everybody as a winner

There is no hate, no love, the gloves are big and the rounds will be short when Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight on Friday night.

It makes no difference if the men share fifty million dollars for their carnival night in a Texas ring. It is one of the purest fights for money in the dirty, old boxing game; it’s not personal, it’s just cash. And, lots of it.

Tyson is 58 now, reformed, grey at the edges, his eyes have softened with his belly and each attempt at spitting venom sounds fake. Well, it probably is, so what? He was once Iron Mike, the youngest heavyweight champion in history, so please show some respect.

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Paul, in his own unique way, has single-handedly ruined the boxing careers of many UFC stars and exposed them inside the boxing ring as flat-footed swingers; now the former child performer is hunting down faded kings of the ring. It is the unmade Rocky movie with a twist: can the old king beat the young kid? It’s the age-old boxing tale.

While Tyson remains the youngest ever world heavyweight champion, few boxers have made as much money from the sport as Paul in the last two or three years (Getty)

It has, obviously, been called a freak show, a meaningless event, a danger to Tyson’s health and a threat to the dignity of boxing, having been rearranged after Tyson suffered a health scare. Spare me the platitudes: it’s nothing more sinister than a cash exercise and there is no chance of Tyson getting hurt. The referee, his corner or the boxer will stop the fight – because of exhaustion – before Paul’s fists inside the 14oz gloves can hurt the faded icon. There is always a chance that Tyson lands and Paul is left sleeping; he would become the 45th man in 51 wins that Tyson has stopped or knocked out.

This is the Tyson who won and lost world titles and was involved in some of the sport’s most brilliant, harrowing and disgraceful fights. Paul is just a prospect with a social media following; he is a genuine prospect, but there are limits to the hype.

This is the same Tyson who bit off and spat out a bloody mouthful of Evander Holyfield’s ear, bit Lennox Lewis on the thigh and threatened to eat the British boxer’s children, and the same Tyson who tried to break Frans Botha’s arm. He has been in freak fights and at the very centre of the circus since he was a teenager.

The hope is that Tyson somehow emerges with some pride, unhurt and smiling (Getty for Fanatics)

This is not his first lunatic rodeo, it’s not the first time his notoriety has pulled a huge crowd. On Friday, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, a crowd of in excess of 60,000 people will watch one of the final acts in Mike Tyson’s extraordinary career. It will be for the millions watching on Netflix, the new home of carnival fights, a chance to witness the great man one more time. So far, all of the clips of Tyson in the gym, looking ferocious, mean and fast on the pads, last just two or three seconds.

In 2020, Tyson fought an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. He was predictable, slow at times, but it remained interesting because there was enough of the formidable and feared fighter left in the old man in the ring. He’s older now, but Paul is not Jones Jr. It might be choreographed, it might be real, it might be an unholy mix of the two.

Netflix is the new home of carnival fights (Getty for Netflix)

There is no avoiding Paul and his claims. He has talked boldly of greatness in the boxing ring, spoken about fighting legends and instead concentrated on fallen UFC fighters, men from the bare-knuckle world and celebrity boxers. He has won 10 of his 11 fights and it has been a brilliant and lucrative career. Few boxers have made as much money from the sport as Paul in the last two or three years. He seems to upset boxing purists but when he met unbeaten Tommy Fury in 2023, the pair fought a novice classic, trading punches to the bell to end the fight after eight rounds. It is rare for unbeaten prospects to fight each other – it is one of boxing’s flaws. Fury and Paul deserved praise, not abuse. Paul dropped Fury but lost a narrow decision and he took the loss well, accepting it without tears and with grace.

According to the Texas Commission, Friday’s fight will be over a maximum of eight rounds, the rounds will be two and not three minutes long, and the gloves will be 14oz and not the regulation 10oz. It needs to be said that the bigger gloves can still do enough damage if attached to a dangerous man’s hands.

Tyson and Paul face off at the press conference for their fight in Arlington, Texas (Getty for Fanatics)

In an ideal world, this fight would not be happening but also in that ideal boxing world, the sanctioning bodies would not perform some of their outrages, they would not allow their champions to avoid other champions for years, and they would not nominate unknown fighters to number one status. And, just perhaps, they would hold accountable the judges who seem to return ridiculous and insulting scores on a weekly basis in televised fights. It’s far from a perfect sport and Tyson and Paul having a bit of fisticuffs is not going to tarnish it any further.

The hope is that Tyson somehow emerges with some pride, unhurt and smiling, and that Paul does not gloat. There will be a fair bit of pantomime but there will also be a lot of holding, wrestling and Tyson fighting off fatigue by desperately clinging to Paul. I never said it would be pretty.