Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson to be a professional fight

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson feud just got more serious, as the July 20 fight between the two at AT&T Stadium in Arlington is officially a sanctioned professional fight. 

Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations sanctioned the fight as a heavyweight matchup to be fought over eight 2-minute rounds with 14 oz. gloves.

As opposed to an exhibition fight, which Tyson last had in November 2020 with Roy Jones Jr., this upcoming fight will count toward both fighters’ professional boxing records. Paul, 27, is 9-1 with 6 KOs, while Tyson, 57, is 50-6 with 44 KOs. Tyson’s last professional fight was nearly 20 years ago on June 11, 2005, where he lost to Kevin McBride after the 6th round. 

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” said Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian in a statement. “Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul Vs Tyson and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point. MVP has championed fighter choice since its inception, including advocating for women’s boxing to be contested with 2 or 3 minute rounds based on the particular fight matchup. Paul vs Tyson and Taylor vs Serrano 2 will both be contested with 2-minute rounds and each mega-fight will have its winner. Thank you to the TDLR and Holden Boxing for their efforts throughout this process to date and we look forward to working closely with them as we approach fight night.”

Tickets for the fight will go on sale at noon on May 16. Those interested in pre-sale tickets can sign up for them here.

The fight will also be streamed live exclusively on Netflix. The semi-main event for Tyson vs Paul will be Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano, a rematch after Taylor defeated Serrano two years ago in Madison Square Garden.