Netflix’s second installment of Countdown: Paul vs. Tysonwhich prefaces Mike Tyson and Jake Paul’s highly anticipated boxing match on November 15, examines both camps of boxers as they prepare to fight. The competition caught the public’s attention, pitting a 58-year-old sports legend against a 27-year-old YouTuber entering the boxing arena having conquered social media. Boxing Hall of Famer and former actor Tyson is a former world heavyweight champion with a legitimate claim to having been the sport’s most visible and controversial figure of the past 30 years.
Jake Paul is no less controversial, even if his boxing credentials are questionable. The central theme of the fight is whether Tyson will be able to turn back time and regain some of his old energy and enthusiasm, or whether his advanced age will catch up with him. In some ways, the fight represents uncharted territory: boxers’ careers usually end at age 40.and while some engage in exhibition fights (Tyson himself tiptoed with legend Roy Jones Junior in 2020), a competitive fight for a 58-year-old is unheard of. Tyson’s boxing career ended at age 38 when he was knocked out by journeyman Kevin McBride in 2005.
Jake Paul was in the entertainment industry before becoming a boxer
Paul had 10 million subscribers at age 17
Paul’s social media empire caught fire on Vine in 2013 when, with brother Logan, their eclectic mix of pranks and shocking videos took the site by storm. After Vine’s collapse in 2017, he moved to YouTube, where his enhanced profile explodedso that by the age of 17 he was posting to more than 10 million subscribers. His brand of disturbing and risky behavior, public feuds and extreme antics have generated attention and clicks, but have also brought him criticism and public rancor.
He took his fame and financial influence to a new level in 2016, releasing Team 10, a cooperative of online influencers who have pooled their resources to expand their collective reach. As a result, Paul diversified into music, merchandising and ultimately, parlaying his many public feuds, into a boxing brand. Most Valuable Promotions was born, pitting online personalities and small-time celebrities against each other in the boxing ring. He discovered that audiences had a huge appetite for this type of entertainment, generating huge returns on pay-per-view, and began his journey to become a professional wrestler.
Jake Paul became a professional boxer in 2020
Paul lost his first fight against a professional boxer
After an unsanctioned fight in which he defeated fellow influencer Ali Eson Gib, Paul embarked on a series of fights against MMA fighters making their boxing debut. Characterized by pre-fight pressers and promotional events during which Paul and his opponents hurled vicious insults and simulated meltdowns, the events probably owed more to professional wrestling than boxing, inside and outside the ring. Still, Paul continued to win and began to consider that he might have a future as a proper professional. Boxing aficionados scoffed at this idea, begging him to prove himself against a real boxer.
Paul answered that call in February 2023 when he faced Tommy Fury, a rookie pro whose reputation owed more to the genes he shares with former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury than his ability in the ring. Still, he was undefeated in eight professional fights when the pair met in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, and beat Paul for an upcoming decision. The novice fight generated more than $25 million, an amount viewed with envy by high-profile professional boxers who could only dream of such purses.
How Jake Paul’s boxing career ended
Paul says he wants to fight the best in boxing
Undeterred by defeat, Paul returned to MMA for his next opponent, Nate Diaz, in August 2023, before beating two professional boxers with sketchy records – Andre August and Ryan Bourland – after which he began name-dropping the sport’s greats. Notables like Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford laughed at Paul’s chances if they foughtbut, in light of the dollars that such a fight would generate, they did not rule it out completely. Instead, Paul turned to 58-year-old Mike Tyson, whose legacy as one of the greatest of all time is assured, but who hasn’t boxed in anger in more than 20 years.
Both boxers are expected to share a purse in the region of $60 million.
In Countdown: Paul vs. TysonPaul, ever the publicist, would like the public to believe that a victory over the older man should improve his credentials and move him closer to a fight with Alvarez or Crawford: “When I knock him out I’ll be the new face of boxing” he says. Eddie Hearn, one of the sport’s most influential figures, is simply hoping that Tyson emerges unscathed, saying The Independent: “You have no respect for boxing if you put Mike Tyson in a ring at 58 years old. I can’t watch this.“Both boxers are expected to share a purse in the region of $60 million, which suggests the public disagrees with Hearn’s assessment.
SOURCE: The Independent