Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson will officially return to the ring in an eyebrow-raising battle with Jake Paul in just under three months time, but regardless of the outcome of their fight, Tyson is poised to etch his name into the record books once again.
Tyson famously knocked out Trevor Berbick in the second-round of their meeting in 1986 to claim the WBC heavyweight title, becoming the youngest fighter to ever hold a belt in the sports’ glamour division, a record that still stands today.
Almost 40 years later, and the once ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ is in line for a less desirable world record – the longest professional career of any heavyweight world champion.
The man who currently holds the accolade is one whom Tyson knows well, sharing the ring with pound-for-pound great Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition back in 2020, before the four-division conqueror opted for a professional contest against former UFC superstar Anthony Pettis in April last year.
Jones lost out to the boxing debutant by majority-decision, in an event that almost proved why gimmicks such as Paul-Tyson should not go ahead.
Still, the fact that the affair was considered a professional one meant that he’d eclipsed the longevity of Jack Johnson, registering an almost 34-year-long (12,384 day) career between his May 1989 debut and the Pettis fight in April 2023.
Meanwhile, Tyson debuted in March 1985 against Hector Mercedes and hung up the gloves after a sixth career defeat to Ireland’s Kevin McBride in June 2005, but a return to professional boxing against Paul would defeat Jones’ record, astonishingly extending Tyson’s time in the ring to over 39 years (14,371 days).
Yet, despite the official announcement of Paul-Tyson coming almost two months ago, the ruleset for the showdown has only been confirmed today, silencing rumours from the likes of Derek Chisora, who declared that the pair could even be wearing headguards in what could only be considered as a glorified spar.
- Fight will be contested at heavyweight
- There will be a maximum of eight two-minute rounds
- Knockouts allowed
- Contestants will wear 14 oz. gloves
- The fighters will not wear headgear
- Result will go on the contestants’ official records
Instead, Tyson and ‘The Problem Child’ will meet in a professional match-up one that will be marked on each of their respective 50-6 and 8-1 pro records.
That is regardless of the original complications given the 30-year age discrepancy between the pair and Tyson’s two decades of inactivity, which raised concerns that the Texas Department of Licensing may not sanction the contest and therefore force it to be rendered as an exhibition.
Paul-Tyson is scheduled to go ahead on July 20th at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, headlining a one-of-a-kind show that will be available to watch live on Netflix, where Tyson will accomplish a less prestigious but still remarkable achievement that no heavyweight has done before.
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