Many people were left confused after the planned fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul on July 20, 2024 passed by without any brawl. Both fighters have since decided to reschedule the fight to Nov. 15. According to Tyson and his team, he received orders from his doctors to pause training for a while due to an ulcer flare up. However, that was not going to stop Paul from setting up another fight for the fans in the meantime.
I do not think that Jake is doing this because he feels that he would lose to a real boxer. It could be to build up his own hype in a way that allows his audience and followers to feel like Paul is a “winner” and a legitimate threat to the boxing scene. I will say that because the fight was postponed and not canceled, it’s evident that Paul and Tyson both have an inkling that either one of them can win this fight.
Instead of fighting Tyson on July 20, Paul decided to take on American MMA fighter Mike Perry. The fight was live on Dazn pay-per-view and resulted in Paul winning the fight in a 6th round TKO in the 8-round cruiserweight boxing match.
Though many expected Paul’s win, it raised the question of Paul’s involvement in the boxing community. Many people have questioned why Paul does not fight actual boxers, choosing instead to fight people with different types of fighting backgrounds. The continuation of this phenomena has had people questioning whether Paul is actually as he looks or whether he is just fighting people who have not had the same type of training that he has had.
The rescheduled match is set to be live streamed on Netflix to make the fight more accessible, unlike the fight between Paul and Perry. There will be two fights beforehand: a match between Katie Taylor VS Amanda Serrano and one with Neeraj Goyat VS Whindersson Nunes.
This fight is sponsored by MVP (Most Valuable Promotions), which is a production/promoting company. It is interesting to note that this company was actually co-founded by Jake Paul himself. This leaves me wondering about the legitimacy of these fights, since Paul is a fighter in the event. Taking a look at Paul’s Instagram comments, it is apparent that many people believe his fights to be rigged.
Despite potential collusion and theatrics, I am still very excited for this fight. I do believe that Paul is a talented fighter with something to prove, however, I believe that Tyson has more at stake due to his legendary status. Because of this I hope that Tyson wins and continues to be regarded as one of the best, because losing this fight could seriously tarnish his legacy.
