Paul Vs Tyson - Is This The Nightmare Before Christmas, Or The Stuff Of Dreams?

Well, it's almost upon us. This Friday, Nov 15th we will see 'The Problem Child' Jake Paul climb through the ropes in Arlington, Texas to face up to one of the absolute Legends of the sport, 'Iron' Mike Tyson.

The event will be the first boxing show to be screened live on the Netflix platform. When I first heard about it, I wondered whether it would be listed as just under 'sport' or indeed even under Comedy, Drama, or even 'Horror'. Yes, you may have guessed it already, my cup does not runneth over with enthusiasm!

That one of the greatest fighters of all time should be partaking in this event does not sit well with me, and I know many of you feel the same. Like many others, I grew up enthralled with the career of 'The Baddest Man On The Planet'. Still the youngest boxer to ever win the World Heavyweight Title, and that in an era of fewer belts, when he fought, all eyes were on Mike. This was the case not just because of his explosiveness in the ring, but also the way his life outside the ring was laid bare before us, ups, downs, and everything in between.

For sure, the man was pure Box Office.

Ironically, Saturday's event has led to predictions of astronomical viewing figures of anything from 25-50 Million, even a figure of around 500M has been suggested (Who asked Don King for his opinion!) The 500M estimate may indeed be fanciful, yet with Jake Paul's YouTube Channel having some 20.8M Subscribers, and reported viewing figures of upwards of 7 Billion, then you'd have to say that the fight may have the potential to have one of the biggest viewing audiences, if not the biggest, in boxing history.

And so to the fight itself. Jake Paul will enter the ring with a 10-1 record, 7 of those wins by KO. His one solitary defeat came at the hands of boxer and Love Island Star Tommy Fury.

Tyson will enter the ring with a record of 50-6, which includes 44 KOs and 2 No Contests.

His last professional fight was some 19 years ago where he suffered a loss against Ireland's Kevin McBride. Tyson retired on his stool before the 7th round. Before doing so, he made an attempt to break McBride's arm and also found time to land a headbutt on the man from Clones, County Monaghan. This led to a two-point deduction and ultimately an ignominious ending to his career. Mike later said that he only took the fight for the money, sadly a situation often repeated by other once-proud champions.

This defeat by McBride was roughly a year after his loss to Danny Williams, the end coming by KO before the bell for the end of round 4.

With the greatest respect to both Kevin McBride and Danny Williams, the man they shared the ring with on both those nights was a mere shadow of 'The Baddest Man On The Planet'.

The Texas Athletic Commission has sanctioned this event as a professional fight. This, in turn, means that the result will count on either man's record. I'm pretty sure this will not be liked by serious boxing fans. For me, the prospect of seeing a loss to Jake Paul on the record of such a legend as Mike Tyson is beyond sad.

So how have both men prepared for the fight? Well, as you'd expect, there has been plenty of glossy content on the social media platforms of both men. In interviews, Jake Paul said he was absolutely flying in training and even declared that in beating Tyson, he will then become the new face of boxing. Oleksandr Usyk will be gutted to hear that!

Someone even remarked that Tyson was 'looking like a 25-year-old again.' Quite remarkable considering that Tyson suffered a bad ulcer flare-up in May, which resulted in him losing 26 lbs in body weight. Tyson is now 58 years of age; that aside, I'd imagine any athlete suffering an illness such as this would certainly never be the best version of themselves come fight night.

As is quite rightly the case, the safety of the fighters must always be the number one priority. Therefore, for me, the one saving grace is that the fight will consist of 2-minute rounds and both combatants will wear 14 oz gloves. This should hopefully ensure that neither will be in danger of being seriously hurt. If you're looking forward to the fight, then enjoy. It's not for me, but like everything I either say or write, it's just my honest opinion.

ENTER THE LEADING LADIES!

Let's finish on a positive note, shall we? The undercard, of course, features Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2, a rerun of their 2022 Sports Illustrated Fight of The Year and Ring Magazine Event of the Year. (Slight pause for a shoutout to Turki Alalshikh, by the way, for his announcement today that he has purchased Ring Magazine and aims to restore it to its lofty position in the world of boxing. Yes, we aim to be on the ball with breaking news at Huge Boxing!)

On that momentous Madison Square Garden night in April 2022, Katie overcame the challenge of Serrano by split decision. In the last couple of years, questions have been asked as to whether Katie is maybe past her best. Well, this indeed may well be the case, but you underestimate the Queen of Bray at your peril. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a real fight!

Till the next time!