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Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson; full card preview, rules, time and how to watch

Written by Tom Eaton on 8th November 2024.

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul

Whether fans love it or hate it, Mike Tyson is set to make a controversial comeback to professional boxing as he takes on YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an event that is under much scrutiny. Still, the night seems poised to be one of the most-watched cards of 2024 and we at Boxing Social have decided to take a deeper dive into the night’s action.

Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes – Middleweight – Six Rounds

To kickstart the event, Neeraj Goyat (18-4-2) will appear for the first time since signing with Paul’s promotional outfit ‘MVP Promotions’, just months after going viral for calling out the polarising social media sensation himself.

Goyat has travelled the world as a professional but most of his experience has come in four and six-rounders in Asia, with a notable ten-round decision loss to three-time world title challenger Jose Zepeda last year being an eye-catching exception.

Yet, despite his unconventional résumé, Goyat boasts a huge upset win over former WBA featherweight world champion Can Xu, defeating the well-respected Chinese 126lber as a 1-2-2 opponent in the early days of Can’s eventually successful career.

In the opposing corner is a man with far less experience, professional debutant and famous YouTuber Whindersson Nunes (0-0). The Brazilian boasts over 44 million subscribers on YouTube and although many will write the 29-year-old off, he could prove to be a surprise package and has been training with the likes of UFC light-heavyweight champion Alex Pereira in preparation for the fight.

Nunes has recorded wins over Mario Silva and ‘Filipek’ on influencer boxing cards in the past but lost his last two bouts against ‘King Kenny’ and ‘My Mate Nate’ in fights that were broadcast live on DAZN.

Although, the performance that sticks out for Nunes comes in an exhibition against former two-division world champion Acelino Freitas, who handed Welshman Barry Jones the lone defeat or his career.

Nunes and Freitas went the distance when they engaged in an eight-round contest that was ruled a draw back in 2022 and that experience against a well-skilled opponent could serve him well come Friday night.

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Bruce Carrington vs. Dana Coolwell – Featherweight – Eight Rounds

From two relatively unknown quantities to one who is being touted for the top, undefeated Bruce Carrington (13-0) currently sits as the #1 contender for the WBC featherweight title (#2 with WBA and WBO) and is set for a quick turnaround from his latest contest.

‘Shu Shu’ underwhelmed in a majority-decision victory against Sulaiman Segawa on September 27th and looks to quickly regain momentum after his run of three consecutive knockout wins came to an end, hoping to re-establish himself as a title threat on one of the most high-profile cards of the year.

Turning professional off of the back of a stellar amateur career that consisted of over 250 wins, the time is now for Carrington to push on and claim world honours in a division that is there for the taking and the 2023 Prospect of the Year has the perfect platform to build support ahead of an imminent title challenge.

In an eight-round contest, Australia’s Dana Coolwell (13-2) is hoping to capitalize on Carrington’s poor performance just weeks ago, but will enter the ring as a sizeable underdog.

Both of Coolwell’s professional defeats have come via split-decision and ‘Deadly Dana’ is unbeaten in the six contests that have followed since losing out to Ender Luces in April 2022.

Yet, this clash with Carrington represents a monumental jump up in both levels and exposure, going from fighting in front of 500 attendees at the Caloundra RSL to the home of the Dallas Cowboys, which has a capacity of 80,000.

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Lucas Bahdi vs. Armando Casamonica – Lightweight – Ten Rounds

Paul-Tyson was originally scheduled to take place on July 20th until Tyson was forced to withdraw due to stomach ulcers. Instead, Paul went ahead with the fight date and faced Mike Perry, but it was Lucas Bahdi (17-0) who stole the show with an upset win over Ashton Sylve that is likely to be a knockout of the year contender.

Bahdi lost the first five rounds of the affair to Paul’s promotional poster boy, but in the sixth the Canadian was able to turn the tides and score a devastating combination to leave Sylve face down on the canvas, and put an end to Sylve’s hopes of taking on Floyd Schofield any time soon.

Aside from that career-best stoppage win, Bahdi is a proven power-puncher with 14 additional knockout wins to his name but he had been relatively untested against opponents of Sylve’s calibre. The Ontario-born lightweight will look for a similar performance here, as he sets out to prove that his victory over Sylve was no fluke.

Italian super-lightweight champion Armando Casamonica (14-0) will drop down in weight for the opportunity to announce himself on the big stage and the 24-year-old will do so as a late-notice replacement after Corey Marksman’s withdrawal.

Casamonica also currently holds the IBF Youth Title and will be eyeing up a move into the top 15 with a victory here. However, just three wins inside of the distance in 14 victories does lead one to believe that he could struggle to keep the hard-hitting Bahdi off of him.

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Shadasia Green vs. Melinda Watpool – vacant WBO Super-Middleweight Title – 10 x 2-minute rounds

Fans will then witness the first of three world title contests on offer, as Shadasia Green (14-1) bids to become a super-middleweight world champion at the second time of asking.

Green was handed a first career defeat when she was outpointed by Franchon Crews Dezurn in December, in a scrap for the WBC title, but she was able to bounce back with a points win of her own against Natasha Spence on the Paul-Perry undercard in July.

‘The Sweet Terminator’ has now opted to challenge for the vacant WBO super-middleweight strap and she will be tasked with unbeaten Canadian Melinda Watpool (7-0), who defeated the same Natasha Spence seven weeks ago.

Watpool is a five-time national amateur champion and has risen into world title contention is just over two years since turning professional, meaning she is certainly not one to be overlooked.

The victor will assumably target a showdown with unified WBC and WBA champion Crews-Dezurn, with IBF title-holder Savannah Marshall instead focussing on a career in mixed martial arts for now.

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Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos – WBC Welterweight Title

Meanwhile, recently cleared #2 WBC welterweight contender Conor Benn is sure to have a vested interest in Mario Barrios’ (29-2) appearance on the card, as the Texan prepares for a first defence of his WBC welterweight world title after being upgraded from interim title-holder earlier this year.

Barrios has been linked to a questionable meeting with legendary pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao since being named champion, but a disappointing exhibition display from ‘Pac-Man’ has put those talks on ice.

To his credit, ‘El Azteca’ has only lost to former world champions in Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman and has shown major improvements in the three fights that have followed those back-to-back defeats, defeating each of Jovanie Santiago, Yordenis Ugas and Fabian Maidana.

The upset win over Ugas sticks out as the 29-year-old’s greatest victory to date but he will assumably have the chance to improve upon that if he is able to successfully defend his title here, as names such as Benn, Pacquiao and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis await.

Abel Ramos (28-6-2) is aiming to derail those plans and steal Barrios’ potential place in those proposed mega-fights as well as the WBC crown, finding himself challenging for the world title despite three losses in his last five outings.

Regardless of what appears to be poor form on paper, Ramos will take confidence from the fact that he pushed undefeated Cody Crowley to the limit despite the verdict of a majority-decision defeat and will hope that his power can cause issues for Barrios – winning without the judges’ intervention in 16 of his last 17 victories.

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Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano – WBC, WBO, WBA & IBF Super-Lightweight Titles – 10 x 2-minute rounds

Despite the allure and debate surrounding the main-event, the highlight of the card for the boxing purists will almost unanimously be the undisputed title rematch between Katie Taylor (23-1) and Amanda Serrano (47-2-1).

Taylor got the nod over Serrano when the pair headlined Madison Square Garden in their first encounter – a match-up to crown the undisputed lightweight champion that resulted in an instant-classic.

Lauded as the greatest female boxer of all-time and as one of the most influential sportswomen of this generation, Taylor’s success in both the amateur and professional ranks has acted as an inspiration for girls around the world, as well as in her native land of Ireland. Although, it was the victory over Serrano that has been the crown jewel of Taylor’s career, taking women’s boxing to new heights in the process.

However, 2023 brought a new challenge to Taylor’s doorstep when she suffered a first career defeat against Northampton’s Chantelle Cameron, but then levelling the scores in the rematch against Cameron with a dubious majority-decision win.

Now, Taylor must prove if she has still got what it takes to overcome a fellow pillar of women’s boxing in Amanda Serrano for a second time, as she and the Puerto Rican make history once again.

Much like Taylor, the career of Amanda Serrano is one that can never be disrespected. ‘The Real Deal’ is not only the lone female fighter to have held world titles in more than four weight-classes, she has gone one step further, an astonishing seven-division world champion – holding belts from super-flyweight to super-lightweight.

Serrano’s loss to Taylor in 2022 is one that will surely haunt her but it is equally one that could have gone either way, and with the pair now both two years older, the fight will be a test of who has declined less in the time that has passed.

Whilst Taylor has fought three times since and lost once, Serrano has returned on five occasions and won all five fights, appearing to have maintained her abilities if not improved upon them since she and Taylor last met.

In a salivating 50/50 affair, the heart of both women is sure to be put to the test once again and fans are expectant of a high-level, high-intensity thriller and a war of attrition.

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Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson – Heavyweight – 8 x 2-minute Rounds

Finally, we come to the media-embroiled, divisive collision between Jake Paul (10-1) and heavyweight boxing icon, ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson (50-6).

Paul has campaigned as a cruiserweight since turning professional in 2020 and overcame former UFC champions in Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva within his first six bouts.

As a result of criticism for refusing to fight professional boxers, Jake Paul then decided to test himself against British cruiserweight prospect Tommy Fury but was left wanting and exited the ring with the first defeat of his career.

Nevertheless, after getting back to winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Nate Diaz, Paul once again fought boxers to silence his doubters and scored first-round knockout wins over Andre August and Ryan Bourland, before heading into a supposed meeting with Tyson – only for Tyson to be replaced by Mike Perry, who he halted in six rounds.

Now ‘The Problem Child’ will finally face a well-recognised professional boxer, but it is one who is 31-years older than he, who last took part in an official contest when Paul was 8-years-old.

Regardless of his age, Tyson is a one-of-a-kind athlete and if there is any fighter who can defeat Father Time it is he. Yet, concerns regarding his knees, back and stomach ulcers would make Father Time the betting favourite.

‘Kid Dynamite’ burst onto the scene in the 1980’s and became the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time when he dispatched of Trevor Berbick inside two rounds in what was a 28th contest in just twenty months as a professional.

Tyson would go on to dominate the heavyweight division and score a plethora of knockout wins on the big stage to become the undisputed champion before falling victim to the upset of the century when he was trumped by Buster Douglas in 1990.

A stint in prison would follow before Tyson returned to the heavyweight throne by stopping Frank Bruno but his second and final reign was cut short when he lost consecutive fights to Evander Holyfield – the latter being one of the most shocking moments in sporting history.

The ferocious New Yorker would challenge for the coveted heavyweight titles on one more occasion, where he was knocked out by Lennox Lewis, before defeats to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride brought Tyson’s career to a close almost two decades ago.

But even that much depreciated 2005 version of the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ is not the man turning up on Friday night.

Aged 58-years-old, Mike Tyson is set to make boxing history as he overtakes Roy Jones Jr.’s record of the longest career of any heavyweight world champion, hoping he can at least roll back some of the years that have passed in a 19-year spell of inactivity.

A figure that would at one-time make onlookers tremble by his presence alone, there is no disputing that Tyson will be a shadow of his former self come fight night. Despite reverting back to his destructive mindset of old, his body cannot do the same and whether that remaining shadow is enough to get past Paul is the question at hand.

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Rules for Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson

  • Eight-round contest
  • Two-minute rounds (usually three-minute)
  • No weight limit (standard for a heavyweight contest)
  • 14 gloves (10oz gloves traditionally used in pro heavyweight bouts)
  • Knockouts permitted
  • Will go on both fighter’s professional records
  • No headgear

How To Watch

The full Paul-Tyson card will be available to watch as a part of a standard Netflix subscription. At present, a monthly subscription can be purchased for £4.99 (with adverts) or £7.99 (without adverts) for those based in the United Kingdom.

When and Where is Paul-Tyson?

Jake Paul will go toe-to-toe with Mike Tyson on Friday 15th November at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, although U.K. viewers the event will take place in the early hours of Saturday morning. The card is set to get underway at 1am (BST), whilst ringwalks for the main-event are expected to commence around 4am (BST).

Full Card

  • Neeraj Goyat (18-4-2) vs. Whindersson Nunes (debut) – Middleweight
  • Bruce Carrington (13-0) vs. Dana Coolwell (13-2) – Featherweight
  • Lucas Bahdi (17-0) vs. Armando Casamonica (14-0) – Lightweight
  • Shadasia Green (14-1) vs. Melinda Watpool (7-0) – WBO Super-Middleweight World Title
  • Mario Barrios (29-2) vs. Abel Ramos (28-6-2) – WBC Welterweight World Title
  • Katie Taylor (23-1) vs. Amanda Serrano (47-2-1) – WBC, WBO, WBA & IBF Super-Lightweight World Titles
  • Jake Paul (10-1) vs. Mike Tyson (50-6) – Heavyweight

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