Some people like it, some people don’t agree with it, and others don’t know what to think about it, but the reality is that a fight will take place on Friday night, November 15, when former two-time world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson takes on the YouTuber who a professional boxer Jake Paul.
The game will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys, and will be broadcast live on Netflix. The Tyson vs Paul match was initially planned to be an exhibition match, but now it has been approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations.
When we first heard about this unusual pairing, the fight was supposed to take place on June 20, but due to a medical issue, the match had to be postponed. Back in May, while on a flight scheduled from Miami to Los Angeles, Mike Tyson needed medical attention because he was suffering from an ulcer flare-up.
Since then, the boxing Hall of Famer has fully recovered, and he is preparing for the new fight date. Last week, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson held a press conference at the Fanatics Fest 2024 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.
The press conference was hosted by former Pittsburgh Steelers and current sports analyst Ryan Clark. As expected, the city of New York gave Mike Tyson a warm reception, while the antagonist, Jake Paul, received some strong words from the crowd.
As Mike Tyson and Jake Paul answered questions about the fight, you could sense that both boxers were experiencing a nervous type of tension. This unique pairing suddenly becomes an interesting matchup as it is clear that both fighters experience a certain level of fear.
For Jake Paul (10-1, 7 KOs), fear exists for obvious reasons. For the first time in his career, Jake Paul faces an opponent with high-level boxing skills. Paul also faces an opponent capable of knocking him out with a single punch.
The early rounds will definitely be the danger zone for Jake Paul as this will be the period where many questions will be answered. Questions like: Can Jake Paul fight off the back foot? Can he take a Tyson punch to the face? The most important question is, can he defend or absorb a Mike Tyson body shot?
While these unanswered questions may cause Jake Paul to feel a certain level of fear and mental anguish, Mike Tyson also has issues to deal with mentally. Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) is by far the more superior boxer, but the number that evens the playing field is Tyson’s age.
At the age of 58, Mike Tyson knows that he is not as fast or as fast as he used to be. Fortunately for Tyson, strength is the last thing to go, and he seems to have retained enough strength to hurt Jake Paul.
Mike Tyson may feel confident navigating his way through the bout without the tools he knows he’s lost, but does he feel some kind of dread because of the unanswered questions?
The questions like, does Mike Tyson have enough punch left to absorb a right hand shot from Jake Paul? Probably the most important question is, if Tyson can’t knock out Jake Paul after the first 3-4 rounds, does he have the stamina to go the distance? If the knockout doesn’t come early, what’s Tyson’s Plan B?
These unanswered questions for Mike Tyson may cast doubt on the former two-time heavyweight champion. For the viewers who plan to watch this fight, these unanswered questions make Tyson vs Paul a more intriguing fight because all the answers will be generated on November 15.
As far as a prediction goes, the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul is simple, but it’s not that simple because you don’t know what scenario is going to play out. Mike Tyson should be the favorite in the first half of the fight, but if the fight goes past four rounds, Jake Paul should be able to win the fight.
