How to watch Jake Paul v Mike Tyson and more pre-fight questions, answered

Where and when is the fight?

The seven-fight card will be held at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium, the $1.2 billion home of the NFL’s Cowboys in Arlington, about 20 miles west of Dallas. It’s difficult to pin down an exact time for the main event, but Paul and Tyson won’t make their entrance before 11:00 PM ET (04:00 GMT).

How much do tickets cost?

A robust live gate is expected, but there were plenty of tickets available at the time of writing, with the cheapest starting at $67 plus costs. Higher rollers can buy something that is the Experience of MVP owners where two people can sit within six feet of ringside in premium leather seats. Also included: eight additional tickets in the first two rows, a pre-fight locker room visit with Tyson and Paul, a chance to be on stage during the weigh-in, autographed gloves from both fighters, in addition to a personal concierge and security detail throughout the week, all for the princely sum of $2 million (£1.58 million). And you thought flattening eggs was bad.

Where can I watch Paul v Tyson?

The broadcast will stream live on Netflix worldwide from 8:00 PM ET (1:00 AM GMT), at no additional cost to subscribers. There will be three televised preliminary fights, including Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano in a highly anticipated rematch of their 2022 classic, ahead of the main event. The stream offers live commentary options in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German.

The first three undercard fights not offered by the Netflix stream are available for free at Most Valuable Promotions’ YouTube, Netflix Sports YouTube And Tudum.

Why Netflix?

In a media landscape where TV ratings are declining across the board, live sports continues to buck the trend. That has caught the attention of media and technology giants like Amazon (which bought into the NFL) and Apple (which bought Messi), among other billion-dollar bets on sports programming as a driver for subscriptions. Paul v Tyson marks Netflix’s third foray into live sports following last year’s The Netflix Cup (a golf pro-am featuring F1 drivers) and March’s The Netflix slam (a tennis exhibition between Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal in Las Vegas).

Considering Netflix had 282.7 million subscribers worldwide in the third quarter of last year, and the enormous popularity of Paul and Tyson across a wide range of age groups, And The vanishingly low cost compared to boxing’s usual pay-per-view events (typically $80 in the US) means it’s all but guaranteed to be the most-watched fight in years, if not ever.

Why is this battle happening?

Paul, 29, who has developed into a competent boxer since taking up the sport and turning pro in 2020, winning 10 of 11 fights against mostly faded MMA fighters and fellow YouTubers, insists this will happen again is a step toward its quixotic goal. of winning a world title, saying: “My sights are set on becoming world champion, and now I have the chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on earth and the most dangerous boxer of all time. ”

As true as that may be, the short money is no small incentive. Paul signed a lucrative deal with Netflix last November to stream one of his upcoming fights before Tyson was even in the picture. After the Iron Mike came on board, interest (and money) only increased.

What are the rules for the fight?

Unlike many of the similar new fights in boxing history, the Paul vs. Tyson fight is not an exhibition. Despite concerns about the three-decade age difference between the fighters, along with Tyson’s inactivity and record of health problems, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) determined that the former champion’s physical condition met the criteria to officially sanction the fight. That means there will be three judges at ringside, an official winner will be declared and the result will count against their records. (It also means sportsbooks can take action on it, though at least that’s the case six US states found the event too untraditional to allow betting.)

The Texas commission has taken some precautions. The fight will take place in eight rounds instead of the usual ten or twelve, with two-minute rounds instead of the usual three. Tyson and Paul will also use 14oz gloves instead of the usual 10oz to reduce the force of the punches.

How much do they get paid?

The TDLR denied a Guardian request under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) regarding the wallet information. But it has been reported that Paul will earn $40 million (£31.6 million) for Friday’s event, while Tyson is said to earn $20 million (£15.8 million). Taylor will reportedly earn $6.1 million (£4.8 million) for her co-feature rematch with Serrano, whose winnings are said to be around $8 million (£6.3 million). That’s an extraordinary feat for the seven-weight Nuyorican champion, who was once paid $1,500 for defending the world title.

Paul didn’t shy away from his earning power during Wednesday’s final press conference, when he mocked undercard fighter Bruce Carrington, a Brooklyn featherweight who doubted his chances: “The time I spend shitting is how much you make in your entire life.” life, friend. Shut your mouth.’ Nice.

Should we be concerned?

Honestly, maybe! The 31-year age gap between the fighters is considered the largest in professional boxing history, easily surpassing the 24 years that separated Archie Moore, who was 49, from Mike DiBiase, who was 25, when they divorced. met as light heavyweights in 1963. While Tyson continues to trade on his Baddest Man on the Planet image, the reality is that he is a 58-year-old man with a history of health problems who lost 26 pounds in May after a flare-up of a stomach ulcer that left him vomiting blood and defecating . tar, which prompted the postponement of the battle from July to November. He has admitted that he suffered from sciatica, which left him unable to speak, and he was photographed pushed into a wheelchair and used a cane at Miami International Airport two years ago. Several other states would not approve of this fight.

It is not without reason that boxers have a classic car day. Every time a fighter climbs through the ropes to the prize ring, there is danger lurking, the only place in society, other than war, where someone can be killed but not legally murdered. Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Sport which promotes Taylor, said BBC Sports last month that he will be ringside to support his champion but will leave before the main event because he doesn’t want to sanction a main event with a fighter of Tyson’s advanced age.

“The reality is that 20 years ago, when Mike Tyson retired from the sport, he was shot, all done,” Hearn said. “To be honest, if I were Jake Paul, I’d be a little embarrassed. … This is dangerous, irresponsible and, in my opinion, disrespectful to the sport of boxing.”

Who else is fighting on the card?

Hearn isn’t the only one calling it a circus. But with two world title fights on the TV undercard, there’s a lot of value on offer for viewers who aren’t keen on watching two men with more than thirty years between them trade blows. The order of play is as follows:

The jewel of the collection is Taylor’s rematch with Serrano in defense of all four major title titles at 140 pounds. Their first meeting in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden two years ago was a match of extreme physical and psychological intensity that somehow surpassed the breathless hype that preceded it. My heart was pounding so much I got a headache. If the second matches it for drama, don’t be surprised if they end the trilogy with a third part before 90,000 in Croke Park.

Good for boxing? Or the death knell for a dying sport?

Boxing is a sport that has always been on the brink of extinction, from the backlash to the English bare-knuckle fights of the 18th century, to the mafia corruption of the mid-20th century, to the renewed abolition movement of the s eighty, often led by white middle class. -class reformers who broke away from the countless impoverished and disenfranchised youth, mainly black and Hispanic youth, have been saved. If we tried, we couldn’t get rid of it.

But does influencer boxing diminish the craft? Our Sean Ingle spoke to Adam Kelly, president of media for global sports rights agency IMG, who predicts Friday’s event will be “one of the biggest fights ever broadcast.” His message to purists? “These fights have encouraged new fans and sparked a new wave of interest in boxing. If boxing only appeals to a hardcore fan base, with technical fighting, it will eventually die out. Because the audience will grow older, and then die. You should constantly try to build your audience. And that means creating a product that specifically appeals to people who aren’t your current fans. If you don’t do that, you’ll be on a shrinking iceberg.”

Translation: If it breaks through today’s crowded entertainment market and gets boxing eyeballs, it can’t be all bad.

Who will win Paul v Tyson?

Even after that Thursday’s weighing blow, those expecting the brand of primal destruction that Tyson built his brand on in the 80s and 90s will be disappointed. And for anyone who believes Tyson’s pride will motivate him against an opponent he would have vaporized in his prime, there may be a hint hidden in his conversation with Rosie Perez for Interview magazine published Tuesday: “What Do I Care About My Legacy? I never knew what a legacy was and people started throwing that word around so loosely. An inheritance sounds like ego to me. I’ll be dead soon. Who cares what anyone will think of me when I’m dead?”

The Texas Commission’s tough guardrails (shorter rounds, shorter length, heavier gloves) make it much more likely that we’ll get what’s known in tennis as “hit-and-giggle”: a polite 16-minute sparring session between business partners who laughing all the time. way to the bank. But no one really knows, which makes it more interesting than it ever deserves to be.