Mike Tyson is in one of the most anticipated fights of the decade? What year is it? What century is it?
Tyson takes on Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday. The fight is streaming on Netflix, a noteworthy milestone as the streaming company continues to ramp up its sports coverage. But this isn’t about a streaming giant, this is about finding out whether or not a 58-year-old former heavyweight champ whose prime was three or four decades ago can take down a controversial 27-year-old whose primary living isn’t through boxing.
Paul is often described as a YouTuber-turned-professional boxer. When Tyson last fought professionally in 2005, YouTube existed, but it hadn’t even received its first round of funding yet.
This fight has already been postponed from an original date of July 20, which has created some skeptics who still think there will be some shenanigans around tonight’s fight.
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul
- Ring walk times: Main card to start at 8 p.m. ET
- How to watch: Streaming on Netflix
- Location: AT&T Stadium
For more on this fight, follow our Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul live blog.
Paul is favored to win and opened at -275 on BetMGM, but the odds have been fluid, with Tyson being a popular bet. As of Friday morning, Paul is -200 to win, but those odds were even shorter on Thursday night. On the flip side, Tyson is currently +190 to win. According to BetMGM, 69 percent of the bets on the fight are on Tyson to win.
“We have more bets written on the fight than any NFL game currently on the board,” Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata (a BetMGM operation in Atlantic City) said. “We’ve taken a few bigger bets on Paul, but the vast majority of the tickets are on Tyson.”
What would make Tyson such a popular bet? Tyson last won a professional fight in 2003. He was one of the best boxers of his generation and one of the biggest names in the sport in the last several decades, but he also saw a sharp decline at the end of his career. The 37-0 start to Tyson’s career ended in 1990 with his famous loss to Buster Douglas. His most famous fights could’ve been the two against Evander Holyfield. Paul was born in between those fights, five months before Tyson infamously bit Holyfield’s ear during their rematch.
Tyson lost three of the last four fights of his career, including losses to the likes of Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. If you know who Williams and McBride are, you must not be fun to compete against in sports trivia. Tyson was far from his boxing prime 20 years ago. What will he be like now?
Meanwhile, Paul is slowly building up a boxing resume, although most of his professional fights are against former MMA fighters with little boxing experience and even a fight against former NBA player Nate Robinson. If you think Tyson will win, you don’t think Paul is much of a boxer and likely point to the lack of quality opposition on his record. One note to keep in mind, Paul has never fought at heavyweight before.
In typical boxing fashion, the pre-fight press conference stirred up some drama and attention. Tyson, who looked quite fit for what it’s worth, slapped Paul on stage.
Mike Tyson slapped Jake Paul at the weigh-in before their fight 😳
🎥 @netflix | #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/ZoiXUoiILw
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) November 15, 2024
A lot of people would like to slap Paul, which could be a big reason why Tyson is receiving so many bets. Paul has built an audience as an influencer but also has plenty of critics.
This fight will not go beyond eight rounds, and each round will last two minutes.
(Photo credit: Brett Carlsen / Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)