Key events
Preamble
Hello and welcome to AT&T Stadium for a night at the fights unlike any we can immediately remember. Mike Tyson is ending a 7,097-day layoff from professional fighting to face the boxer-influencer Jake Paul in a non-title heavyweight bout scheduled for eight rounds at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
If you’re reading this, it’s unlikely Tyson needs any introduction. In 1986, at 20 years old, the Brooklyn native became the youngest heavyweight champion in history, laying waste to Trevor Berbick inside two rounds to win the World Boxing Council title. After unifying the other major title belts, the nominal Baddest Man on the Planet made six defenses of the undisputed heavyweight championship before losing in a historic upset to James ‘Buster’ Douglas by 10th-round knockout in February 1990. Convicted of rape in 1992 and sentenced to six years in prison, Tyson served three years before being released on parole and was never again the same destructive force, closing his professional ledger with six wins and five defeats with two no-contests.
While Tyson remains one of the most recognizable people in the world nearly two decades after his last official fight, there are few people under the age of 30 who don’t know Paul. After cultivating an enormous public profile on Vine and YouTube alongside elder brother Logan, the Cleveland native has managed to develop into a competent boxer since taking up the sport and turning professional in 2020. He’s had 11 paying fights since then, mostly against former mixed martial arts fighters and journeyman boxers with the odd retired NBA player thrown in. His lone setback came by split decision to Tommy Fury last year, but he’s won four on the trot since then including a July knockout of Mike Perry, a veteran of the MMA and bare-knuckle boxing circuits.
Some have called it a circus. But with two world title fights on the TV undercard, including Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in a hotly anticipated rematch of their 2022 classic, there’s plenty of value on offer for viewers who aren’t keen on watching two men with 31 years between them exchange leather.
The live Netflix broadcast starts in 15 minutes and there will be three preliminary bouts ahead of the main event. The order of play will be as follows:
It’s uncertain when Paul and Tyson will make their entrances for the main event, but it won’t happen before 10pm local time. That’s 11pm on the US east coast and 4am in the UK.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his explainer with everything you need to know about tonight’s event.
Mike Tyson is returning to professional boxing for the first time in nearly two decades on Friday night in Texas. The 58-year-old former undisputed heavyweight champion is fighting YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a made-for-Netflix showdown expected to draw a global audience of around 300m viewers.
But is that all you really need to know? What about the rules, how much they’re getting paid and the *checks notes* 31-year age difference. Read on for all the answers …
Where and when is the fight?
The seven-fight card is being held at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium, the $1.2bn home of the NFL’s Cowboys in Arlington, about 20 miles west of Dallas. It’s hard to pin down an exact time for the main event, but Paul and Tyson will not make their entrances before 11pm ET (4am GMT).
Where can I watch it?
The broadcast will stream live globally on Netflix starting at 8pm ET (1am GMT) at no additional cost to subscribers. There will be three televised preliminary fights, including Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in a hotly anticipated rematch of their 2022 classic, leading up to the main event. The stream will feature options for live commentary in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German.
The first three undercard bouts not carried by the Netflix stream will be available free on Most Valuable Promotions’ YouTube, Netflix Sports YouTube and Tudum starting at 5.30pm ET (10.30pm GMT).
Who else is fighting?
Hearn isn’t alone in calling it a circus. But with two world title fights on the TV undercard, there’s plenty of value on offer for viewers who aren’t keen on watching two men with more than 30 years between them exchange blows. The order of play is as follows:
The best fight on the card by some distance is Taylor’s rematch with Serrano in defense of all four major title belts at 140lbs. Their first encounter before a sold-out Madison Square Garden two years ago was a contest of extreme physical and psychological intensity that somehow exceeded the breathless hype that preceded it. My heart was pounding so much I had a headache. If Friday night’s second installment matches it for drama, don’t be surprised if they close out the trilogy with a third before 90,000 at Croke Park.
