Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Stephane Cardinale/Corbis via Getty Images, Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images
The next Vincent Van Gogh of our time might just be Jake Paul (in that he may be earless by the end of summer). The YouTube idiot turned heavyweight-boxing idiot will fight Mike Tyson on July 20. The fight will be broadcast worldwide on Netflix as Big Red’s third live sporting event ever through a partnership between ’Flix and Paul’s sports production company, Most Valuable Promotions. “My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time,” Paul said in a statement. “This will be the fight of a lifetime.” Tyson, meanwhile, said of the fight: “We signed the contract.”
The fight will take place at the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas. It will be a sanctioned fight, so someone will be declared a winner, as opposed to his brother Logan Paul’s brawl against Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2021. This bout is another step in Netflix’s move into sports, following The Netflix Cup (golf) and The Netflix Slam (tennis) — both of which were low enough on the “annoying” factor that this classifies as a departure for the streaming service. If Paul comes out with all body parts intact, we will consider this a failure.
