If ever there was an example to perfectly illustrate the
absurdity of Friday's Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight, it is this:
On 17 January 1997, the Paul family in Ohio were celebrating
the birth of blond-haired baby boy Jake.
Meanwhile, the cover of that month's edition of the
International Boxing Digest asked: "Is Tyson finished?"
'Iron Mike' was already past his prime - having been
dismantled inside 11 rounds by Evander Holyfield two months earlier - but to
answer the question, no, he was not finished.
Twenty-seven years later, Jake has grown into the
self-proclaimed 'Problem Child' and faces a 58-year-old Tyson at Dallas'
AT&T Stadium.
Tyson and Paul will wear bigger gloves and contest
shorter two-minute rounds in a contest which has, curiously, been
sanctioned as a professional bout.
Organisers say it is not a gimmick, while the inclusion to
the card of Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano - after their all-time classic in
2022 - adds credibility.
Critics argue the richest and most competitive fight in the
female code should not be playing second fiddle to the Tyson-Paul carnival.
Yet the interest is undeniable, so much so that it convinced
streaming powerhouse Netflix to broadcast the event live to a global subscriber
list of 280 million.
A crowd of about 70,000 is expected at the stadium.
With boxing's already fragile reputation being tested, will
Tyson and Paul treat this as a 'real' fight? Should it even be happening? And
what does the Netflix deal bring?
Should it be happening?
Paul's venture into the sport - and his brashness - has been
met with dismay by those who feel a YouTuber does not deserve the opportunity
to dent former Tyson's boxing legacy.
"If those critics want to be mad at someone then be mad
at Mike Tyson because he's the one still wanting to do this fight - he wanted
it to be a pro fight," Paul responds.
Though there is more at stake than a loss on a record.
For all the history, glory, rags-to-riches stories, boxing
is - at its very essence - a gladiatorial sport where one punch, hesitation or
lapse of concentration can prove fatal.
The fight was postponed in the summer when Tyson suffered a
stomach ulcer; the Brooklyn fighter feared he might die.
While he was as menacing as ever in his interview with OceanNewsUK, Tyson was breathing heavily throughout. He insisted his health
is "just fine".
Equally, Paul is a boxing novice and, as the adage goes, the
last thing to go is power.
Tyson has regularly shared training videos, with signs of
the punching power he carried in his prime exhibited in short clips of him
smashing punchbags and mitts.
Paul compares his boxing journey to a video game. To use
another boxing cliche, you do not play boxing.
How real is this fight?
Two-time heavyweight world champion Tyson fought Roy
Jones Jr in an exhibition bout in 2020 and is in impressive shape for
a man nearing 60.
But there is no hiding from the fact that he has not fought
professionally in more than 19 years. When he lost to Kevin McBride in 2005,
Tyson said he had lost his heart and stomach for the sport and was only
fighting to pay the bills.
"I am not going to disrespect the sport any more by
losing to this calibre of fighter," he said post-fight.
With Paul reported to be earning about £31m and Tyson's
purse half that, there are question marks around the motivations behind this
match-up.
"Don't follow the script, Mike," was a comment
left on a photo Tyson posted to Instagram recently.
Paul has faced repeated and unsubstantiated accusations that
his fights are predetermined, but he did suffer a loss to Briton Tommy
Fury in 2023. His other opponents - mostly former UFC fighters - have
been picked wisely, and now he has chosen to face a man 31 years his senior in
a winnable contest.
Observing Tyson's demeanour in the week -
particularly when he slapped Paul at Friday's weigh-in - you get the sense he
is approaching this as a "real" fight.
"Jake is in a lot of trouble," Tyson said.
"He can say whatever he wants. In the ring is where the party begins and
he's finally going to party with the big boys."
Record numbers expected for Netflix
Large groups - fuelled by Tyson nostalgia - gathered outside
the Toyota Music Factory in Irving before fight-week festivities, wanting to
get as close to him as they could as he got out of his car.
Social media influencers and stars from Netflix shows such
Cobra Kai will attend on Friday, and a VIP package - valued at £1.5m - has been
sold to a law firm. It includes photos with Tyson and Paul, a number of
ringside tickets and a suite situated "flush against the ring".
Amid the glitz of fight week, though, Taylor and Serrano
have slipped into the background.
Their fight is being promoted by Paul's Most Valuable
Promotions, and co-founder Nakisa Bidarian says a Netflix deal was agreed
before Tyson was chosen as the opponent.
"People aged from four, five, six years old, all the
way to the late 70s and early 80s who were fans of Mike in the 1990s or 1980s.
We think it's a very unique combination," Bidarian says. "We expect
record numbers."
The Netflix listing for Friday's event, which includes the
boxers in the cast list, reads: "This film is: Rousing, Exciting."
The hope is the genre does not turn out to be a horror.
