Since KSI and Joe Weller made social media reevaluate its views of boxing, YouTube stars have been taking up boxing. Jake Paul is the latest YouTube star who will enter an exhibition boxing match against Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas on July 20.
Though some might see the fight as an unnecessary publicity stunt, others see its benefits for both participants. Not only will the fight generate huge paydays for both boxers, but viewers will get to witness whether Paul can truly compete at the highest level of boxing. Paul has been training hard in preparation for this bout and recently posted videos displaying sweat-inducing training sessions with Tool’s Maynard James Keenan as part of their preparations.
Keenan’s experience as a former professional boxer gives him a wealth of knowledge that will allow Paul to advance his game to new heights. Additionally, as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu he knows exactly how to prepare his opponent for boxing matches.
But the real story of the fight lies with Netflix itself – not its participants or hosts – hosting this fight as part of its first venture into fight world without paywall. Netflix clearly wants to increase their profile within sports world by hosting events such as this.
TDLR interim executive director Brian E. Francis will make the determination as to whether this upcoming match is an exhibition fight or sanctioned professional contest, so Paul and Tyson won’t need to wear headguards during it and rounds may be less frequent and smaller compared with typical professional male boxing bouts. This decision will ultimately be upheld by his staff.
As Paul is much younger than Tyson, he has been working tirelessly in preparation for their matchup. Posting sweat-soaked videos of intense workouts, Paul has also reportedly been training at Cottonwood Arizona Verde Valley BJJ martial arts school owned by Keenan – posting videos showing intense training sessions that feature six knockouts while winning by first round TKO over Ryan Bourland and Andre August in 2017. It remains to be seen if Paul can overcome their age disparity as well as any possible ring rust in order to meet Tyson in April or not!