Netflix will host its first live fights Friday, including a heavyweight boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
It will be Tyson’s first sanctioned fight since June 2005, when he, then 38, was TKO’d by Kevin McBride. Following that fight, Tyson said he didn’t “have the guts to be in this sport anymore,” but that seems to have changed.
Tyson, now 58, is returning to the ring nearly 20 years later — he has fought in unsanctioned fights following his retirement, including his last fight in 2020 — to face Paul in the Netflix exclusive event.
But the fight doesn’t come without concerns.
Tyson’s infamous ear bite
Tyson’s boxing career began in 1985. While the former undisputed world heavyweight champion posted 50 wins, six losses and 44 knockouts in his career, he may be better known for what he did inside the boxing ring without his gloves.
On June 28, 1997, Tyson got in the ring with Evander Holyfield for the second time in their careers. Holyfield beat Tyson the year prior and stole his WBA heavyweight title.
In the 1997 fight, Tyson bit Holyfield’s ear twice, which ultimately resulted in Tyson’s disqualification in the third round. He claims the bites came in response to Holyfield’s headbutts. Tyson’s actions resulted in Holyfield losing a part of his ear.
As punishment, Tyson lost his boxing license and had to pay a $3 million fine as well as the legal fees for his hearing with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, according to The Associated Press.
The age gap between Paul and Tyson
Tyson was once a force of nature. His early nicknames “Iron Mike” and “Kid Dynamite” were traded in for “the Baddest Man on the Planet.” Two years after his retirement, ESPN named him the hardest heavyweight hitter in history.
But Tyson is now 58 years old, and he’s about to face Paul, who is just 27. Paul has only been boxing since 2020 and has a record of 10 wins, one loss and seven knockouts, per USA Today.
Precautions are being taken to keep the men safe. They were built into the rules for the sanctioned fight.
- The fight will be shorter than normal, with only eight two-minute rounds. Typically, there are 10 or 12 rounds of three minutes.
- Additionally, both Paul and Tyson will have to wear 14-ounce gloves instead of the standard heavyweight 10-ounce gloves, according to USA Today. The heavier gloves have more padding for safety.
Tyson has promised to knock Paul out, according to ESPN. But he’ll be dealing with a different set of challenges than the younger man.
Tyson has battled with health problems over the years. The original date of the fight was postponed when he revealed he was suffering from an ulcer.
“I had a big ulcer, two-and-a-half inches, and it was bleeding,” Tyson said, per ESPN.
Due to Tyson’s age, there is concern of his increased “risk of intracranial hemorrhage,” Dr. John Neidecker, a member of the Association of Ringside Physicians, told ESPN. But Neidecker added that Tyson is not your typical 58-year-old.
Will Netflix let kids watch Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson?
Tyson warned that he’ll bring “the devil himself” Friday and that his own kids’ perspective on him will be changed by his fight against Paul, according to ESPN.
“My kids don’t really think of me as the baddest man on the planet. ... But on Nov. 15 they will have a different opinion of me,” he said.
If the fight will seem that violent to Tyson’s own children, parents may want to be wary of their children watching.
Netflix’s page for the fight doesn’t mention any specific parental controls the streaming service is introducing for the fight.
Parents concerned about their children viewing the violent content will have to rely on the parental controls already offered by Netflix. Parents can block their children’s profiles from viewing specific titles, but as of Thursday afternoon, the fight isn’t available to block on the app.
Netflix also offers maturity ratings controls. Parents can limit what their children watch on Netflix based on a show’s maturity level rating. Friday’s fight will be rated TV-14, according to Netflix.
You can learn how to set up both controls here.
When is the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight?
The stream for Friday’s main card will start at 6 p.m. MST. The exact start of the Paul-Tyson fight depends on the fights before it, according to USA Today.
Netflix will stream a total of seven fights Friday.