Following the announcement of Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s fight rules, boxing fans have expressed their outrage.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations has declared YouTuber turned boxer Paul and former heavyweight champion Tyson’s battle on July 20 to be a sanctioned, professional fight.
The bout will last eight rounds, each lasting two minutes, and the winner will have their professional boxing records affected. Both fighters will be wearing 14-ounce gloves.
“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,” Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement to ESPN.
“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.”
Given the thirty-year age difference between Paul, 27, and Tyson, 57, since the fight’s announcement, there has been a great deal of debate.
Fans quickly criticized the decision made by their Texas boxing commission in particular.
Meanwhile, Tyson made the following clear when the news was revealed: “Yes it’s a real sanctioned fight with Jake Paul.”
Ever since his victory over Clifford Etienne via knockout in February 2003, Tyson has not prevailed in a professional boxing contest. Since then, Kevin McBride in 2005 and Danny Williams in 2004 have stopped him.
As for the age difference, it will surpass the 24-year difference between Archie Moore (49 years old) and Mike DiBiase (25 years old) when they first met in 1963 to become the largest in professional boxing history.
