Andreas Heil, ESPN
Mike Tyson takes on Jake Paul in an eight-round heavyweight bout Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (Netflix, 8 p.m. ET). The bout, sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, will be a two-minute round, with both fighters wearing 14-ounce gloves instead of the usual 10-ounce gloves for heavyweight bouts.
Tyson, 58, and YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 27, were scheduled to fight on July 20, but Tyson suffered a recurrence of the ulcer on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles in May and was referred to the doctor. The match was postponed as he received medical treatment.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) became the youngest heavyweight champion in 1986 at the age of 20, and a year later became the undisputed champion by unifying all three major belts. He defended his three belts six times before losing by 10th round knockout to James “Buster” Douglas in February 1990 in a historic upset.
Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) began his boxing career in 2020, winning six straight fights primarily against former MMA fighters. Paul’s only loss was against Tommy Fury in February 2023, but he has won three straight since then.
In the co-main event, Katie Taylor, the undisputed junior welterweight champion and ESPN’s No. 2 ranked pound-for-pound fighter, shares her New Stadium memories with seven-division champion and No. 3 ranked pound-for-pound fighter Amanda Serrano. A rematch of the remaining matches will be held. April 2022, Madison Square Garden in York.
Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) defeated Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KOs) by split decision with scorecards of 96-93, 97-93, 94-96. It was the first time a women’s unified title match headlined an event at a packed Garden. The match, built to be the biggest fight in women’s boxing history, lived up to expectations. The all-action match was ESPN’s 2022 Women’s Match of the Year.
Stay here for live updates, match results and round-by-round analysis.
