Mike Tyson may face off against Jake Paul in the ring. A new report says that the 55-year-old Baby Boomer boxer would take on the social media star turned athlete in a marquee match-up in Las Vegas.
A Vegas source said the men have reached a “verbal agreement” recently, The Sun reported. Mike Tyson left boxing in 2005, but he took on Roy Jones Jr. in a 2020 exhibition. For Paul, this would be another step toward legitimacy as a boxer, as many see Tyson as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time. The bout with Paul is expected to generate $50 million in revenue. When they would fight or how they would split the purse is unclear.
“Mike is looking for a certain figure to get into the ring with a profit share guarantee,” a source familiar with the agreement told The Sun. “Jake obviously has that on his mind but is keen to show the world that stepping into the ring with a man once called, ‘the baddest man on the planet,’ takes his boxing career to the next level.”
Tyson, who is 50-6-2 as a boxer, wants a payday similar to what Floyd Mayweather earned to fight Jake Paul’s older brother Logan Paul. Money Mayweather claimed he raked in $100 million for the bout over the summer. Logan floated the idea of fighting Tyson late last year.
Tyson and Jake Paul became close after the 25-year-old went on the former champ’s podcast last year.
Jake Paul Seeks Validation From Boxing Critics
The undefeated Jake Paul is one of the biggest draws in boxing at the moment. Mike Tyson thinks a fight with him, despite their age, weight, and skill discrepancies, will get younger people into the sport.
Jake Paul knocked out former UFC fighter Tyron Woodley in their rematch last month. The win quieted some of his critics, but it bombed with pay-per-view audiences. Less than 65,000 people spent money to buy the fight, reports said. It leaves Paul still searching for that marquee win to prove he’s a serious boxer.
Woodley stepped in at the last minute after Tommy Fury, little brother to Tyson Fury, pulled out of a fight with Paul because of a rib injury.
Injuries threaten to sideline Paul’s athletic career. He said he suffered slurred speech and memory loss after taking up boxing.
“Sometimes in my speech, where like every hundredth or two hundredth word, I’ll mess up or, like, slur. Which I didn’t do that before.”
Doctors scanned his brain when he started fighting in 2018, and a year later they advised him to quit after a second scan showed serious damage, Newsweek reported.
Paul said if he gave up boxing he’d likely try to join NASCAR or another sport.
“Why not? You know I have wondered what do I do after boxing?” he said when asked about his future. “I’ve thought about the NFL, I’ve thought about NASCAR. But now that you’re bringing up swimming.”
