This won’t be some rinky dink exhibition. Now that Texas has made Paul vs. Tyson a pro bout, both men are reportedly going for the KO win.
There will be no mercy for the 57-year-old Mike Tyson when he steps into the ring across from Jake Paul on Saturday, July 20th in Arlington, Texas.
That’s according to “The Problem Child” himself, who plans on giving 100% in his special rules boxing match against the elderly legend. While the bout will feature 2 minute rounds and 14 oz gloves, it’s still considered a proper pro bout instead of an exhibition. With his record on the line, Jake won’t be messing around.
“They’re just going to say, ‘He’s old and you disrespected him,’ and all that s—,” Paul said on his YouTube channel. “But I just want to make it clear: Mike Tyson was the one who wanted it to be a pro fight. Mike got into training camp and called up people on my team and were like, ‘Let’s do a pro fight, is Jake down?’”
“Netflix was like, ‘Let’s make it a pro fight, we’re down.’ And I said to [MVP co-owner] Nakisa [Bidarian], ‘If that’s what Mike wants, that’s fine. But make sure you tell Mike that there’s no holding back. Whatever happens, happens and this is war now and if Mike’s okay with that, then I’m okay with that but I want Mike to be the one making this decision.’”
“I’m going in there, and now it’s a pro fight, it’s on my record, I’m going to f—ing put him down,” Paul declared. “And if people are p—ed about it, then watch soccer.”
With the wild age difference, there was a lot of speculation that Texas might regulate this like a friendly exhibition bout. Tyson’s last fight against Roy Jones Jr. was like that — neither man was looking to put anyone’s lights out, and it was all pretty friendly. That won’t be the case on July 20th, according to Paul. It’s KO or be KO’d, and he’s banking on the world tuning in to Netflix to see Mike Tyson beat him.
Considering he’s nearly half Tyson’s age, there’s a very good chance he doesn’t give them that satisfaction.