Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk is the big fight on Saturday night in what many believe is the fight of the century so far. But not Jake Paul.
The 27-year-old YouTuber turned boxer is preparing for a ‘superfight’ of his own when he meets 57-year-old former heavyweight king Mike Tyson in Arlington, Texas on July 20.
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This might be an unedifying event for many, with Tyson long since retired and almost pensionable. But still, it HAS been sanctioned as an official pro bout – scheduled for 8 x 2-minute rounds.
The two men faced the media at a press conference in New York City on Monday, and Paul explained why he thinks this fight is the biggest one of all. That would be the broadcast platform, with streaming giant Netflix getting into live boxing for the very first time.
Netflix factor huge
‘The Problem Child’ said: “Yeah, look, it is Most Valuable Promotions that have been changing the game since we came into the promotional business and we just continue to level up and do things differently and see gaps in the market that no one else has identified.
“We wanted to work with Netflix, they liked the idea and see the vision in what we’re building, what type of events we can put on. This is quite literally the biggest fight of the 21st century because of the fact that it’s Mike Tyson versus me, but also the fact that it’s in 700 million households on Netflix for free, for everyone who’s a subscriber to watch.”
So we know Paul saw this as a no-brainer, a surefire box office winner. But what about Tyson?
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Paul went on: “Yeah no, he was game. I think he’s always wanted to do this. This has been a long time coming. We’ve been calling each other out for years and we finally got to make it happen on Netflix, the biggest platform in the world, and things just keep on getting bigger and better.
“The co-main event [Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano]… I mean this is quite literally history that we’re looking at right here. Mike wanted this. Mike wanted it to be a pro fight. He wants the war, and so I respect that. I respect him for taking this fight, for stepping up to try to put an end to me because that’s what all these fighters have been trying to do is end the YouTuber and if Mike can do that, then he’s a hero.”
Tyson WANTED pro fight
Many eyes were raised when the fight was officially sanctioned, and Paul says it was Tyson who pushed for that professional status.
“After the contract was signed, we got a call from Mike’s team and they were like, ‘Hey, he wants it to be a pro fight for sure. He wants that. He wants to put it all on the line.’ I respect Mike for that and if he wanted it to be that, then let’s run it.”
