Almost twenty years after his last professional fight, Mike Tyson puts on the gloves again. At 58 years old, the former glory of the ring, who ended his career in 2005, appears on the poster for an English boxing evening organized on Friday, November 15 at the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas (around 5 p.m. Saturday morning, Paris time). . The former world heavyweight champion challenges a man thirty-one years his junior: Jake Paul, an internet star – with 20 million subscribers on the YouTube platform – who became a professional boxer in 2020.
Although he has a record of nine wins and one loss, most of the 27-year-old videographer’s fights have been against former MMA (mixed martial arts) glories who are largely in decline. The only one who beat him? An opponent of the noble art: Tommy Fury, half-brother of the British Tyson Fury.
Initially scheduled for July 20, the duel between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was postponed due to the health of the former, victim of an ulcer in May. And this exposure worries specialists. “It is a kind of sparring session [combat d’entraînement] glorified, as Americans call itcomments Baba Diagne, consultant at RMC Sport. Mike Tyson is not fit to fight a professional fight, he is putting himself in danger. »
Although the 50-year-old obtained a professional license from the Texas Athletic Commission, the rules changed due to the age difference between the two boxers. Instead of twelve three-minute rounds, Friday’s duel will be played in eight two-minute rounds to save Mike Tyson from cardio. Your gloves will also weigh more to reduce the power of the blows.
“Boxing has always been a business”
A former glory returning to the ring to face a YouTuber turned boxer, the recipe is not new. In 2021, former French Olympic champion Brahim Asloum spoke out against “masquerade” of these exhibition matches, which only have some connection with the noble art “the fact of having [lieu sur] a ring ». But it is clear that these types of events attract, starting with the sponsors.
Despite its lack of sporting interest, Friday’s duel has the support of Netflix – with the help of Jake Paul’s promoter, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) -, which will broadcast exclusively, for the first time, a boxing fight . To keep viewers excited, a three-episode miniseries, Countdownwas put online on the streaming platform. The show, which chronicles the two men’s preparation for the deadline, is currently one of the three most-watched series in the United States.
After the announcement of this fight, criticism arose, particularly at the idea of authorizing a veteran, close to sixty, to take up the gloves, even if Mike Tyson had already fought, in 2020, against another fifty-year-old. Roy Jones Jr, during a gala evening. “The problem with this fight is Mike Tyson. It will surely draw an audience, but it will encourage upcoming wrestlers to prolong their careers unnecessarily to get a big check. “It is dangerous for your health and shows a bad image of boxing.” I’m sorry Baba Diagne.
A big check for each participant.
According to the Spanish newspaper brandThe two men are expected to pocket a check worth $40 million. By comparison, at the height of his fame, “Iron Mike” pocketed $30 million during his legendary fight against Evander Holyfield in 1997, during which he bit off his opponent’s ear. “Boxing has always been a business, recalls Jean-Charles Aivadian, creator and presenter of the YouTube channel Boxe Attitude. Promoters ask themselves: “How to make more money?” That’s why there have always been crazy fights, like when Mohamed Ali faces the fighter. japanese antonio inoki [en 1976]. This crossing between different disciplines often occurs to find out who is the best.. Jake Paul has understood these codes and wants to make boxing true entertainment. »
For Jean-Charles Aivadian, the Tyson-Paul duel will be “probably the most viewed in history”. The opportunity for the other posters of the evening, also broadcast by Netflix, to benefit from this focus. Among them, the rematch between the Irish super lightweight world champion, Katie Taylor, and the Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano, who has been part of Jake Paul’s promotional company since 2021. The YouTuber and the businessman had organized the first clash between the two women. won by Katie Taylor – in 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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«Jake Paul’s promotion company is in charge of the event.remember Baba Diagne. their fight [contre Tyson] It has a double objective: to give it a new image, because it is often discredited in view of previous fights, but also to make Amanda Serrano’s fight visible. » It remains to be seen what the meeting between the former icon of noble art and the professional Internet neoboxer will be like.
