Special to Sports News Highlights

(SNH) — Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) confirmed that the blockbuster heavyweight fight Jake Paul (9-1, 6 KOs) versus Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs), initially set for July 20, has now been elevated to a professional bout with eight two-minute rounds.

This decision underscores the sheer magnitude and importance of this showdown. Or maybe not.

In a statement, Paul’s manager and MVP co-founder, Nakisa Bidarian, praised everyone involved for ensuring this fight will count on both men’s records.

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” Bidarian said. “Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) requirements to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and I am grateful that we have gotten to this point. MVP has championed fighter choice since its inception, including advocating for women’s boxing to be contested with two or 3-minute rounds based on the particular fight matchup. Paul vs Tyson and Taylor vs Serrano 2 will be contested with two-minute rounds, and each mega-fight will have its winner. Thank you to the TDLR and Holden Boxing for their efforts throughout this process. We look forward to working closely with them as we approach fight night.” 

Nakisa, what are you thinking?

Seriously. Tyson is approaching 60 and Paul has only competed against one legitimate professional boxer. If his lone loss to Tommy Fury in February, 2023 was supposed to have merit, it does not.

Ryan Bourland found out the hard way in March, suffering a vicious first-round KO at the hands of Paul in less than one round, which was essentially a mismatch. Bourland was thought to be picking people up in Ubers before he got the bout agreement, but that was deemed untrue.

Meanwhile, Tyson hasn’t competed in professional boxing in nearly 30 years but did briefly come out of retirement in November 2020 when he went the distance with Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition, an event Paul was also involved.

Was this fight destined to happen? That’s debatable. Is it a money grab? Absolutely. It caters to the casual observer, social-media-obsessed Gen Z’er and anyone over 25 during Tyson’s heyday era.

Ultimately, no one wins here. Whether Paul knocks out Tyson in less than two rounds or Tyson miraculously earns a decision, the blame can be solely put on the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the state’s regulatory body, for letting it happen. Someone can get seriously hurt and Tyson or Paul might never be the same again.

For entertainment purposes, it’s a brilliant marketing ploy. The promotional work and press tour scheduled for May 13 (New York) and May 16 (Texas) will do its own proverbial talking. From a boxing standpoint, a sport that has existed for over 100 years, it’s a disgrace.

By the time the final bell rings and the outcome is read, it would be hard to say anything monumental can be learned from this “fight.”

It’s time for boxing to return to its old-school roots—making fights that people care about.

Paul-Tyson isn’t one of them, and they could be set up for abject failure. It’s sad to see.

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