After suspicions that Jake Paul’s eyebrow-raising showdown with Mike Tyson would be cancelled for good, it appears as though the American duo will indeed go toe-to-toe in two months’ time. However, despite the huge difference in age and more importantly health, it is easy to see why Paul is so keen on the match-up, revealing his staggering purse for the event.
Whether fans like it or not, Jake Paul is emerging as one of the largest pay-per-view draws in the world of boxing and his shocking bout with ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson can be expected to be one of the most hotly-anticipated fights of the year, even if it is for the wrong reasons.
Paul-Tyson was originally scheduled to go ahead in July until the 58-year-old Tyson, who has been retired for almost two decades, was forced to withdraw due to stomach ulcers. ‘The Problem Child’ went on to fight bareknuckle boxer Mike Perry and scored a third consecutive knockout win, dropping Perry on three occasions before getting the sixth-round stoppage.
Now, Paul-Tyson is on once again and although many will disagree with the scrap, there are few who would turn down the opportunity if they were in either man’s shoes.
At the press conference, where the pair met for the first time since the fight was rescheduled, Jake Paul declared he is simply here to make ’40 million dollars’ and added that the idea of making the contest a professional one rather than an exhibition was Tyson’s rather than his own.
“I didn’t bring him here for s**t. I am here to make 40 million dollars and to knock out a legend. I don’t give a f**k about anything else, he is the one who wanted it to be a pro fight, so he is going to get his a** knocked out for real, on a real record.
“You are going to see it on BoxRec, Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, Jake Paul KO’s Mike Tyson. I am not here to do s**t besides make a bag.
Meanwhile, Marca reports that Mike Tyson will bag $20 million for fighting the 10-1 cruiserweight, supposedly $15 million less than the $35 million he received to face Lennox Lewis in 2002 (around $62 million today) when he challenged for the heavyweight throne, only to declare bankruptcy the following year.
Although Paul-Tyson is not one for the boxing purists, and the fact many 1990’s boxing fans will watch the card through their fingers, they will still be watching – and the co-main event may also tempt a few additional naysayers.
Katie Taylor will put her undisputed super-lightweight title on the line in a rematch against Amanda Serrano, two years after their modern day classic at Madison Square Garden, earning a record breaking purse of $6 million in the richest female boxing match of all-time.
Paul-Tyson and Taylor-Serrano II take place on November 15th at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will be available to watch live on Netflix.
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