This weekend, Mike Tyson and Jake Paul will face off in a boxing match with a twist.
Tyson, 58, is set to fight YouTube star turned professional boxer Paul, 27, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in an event, which will be streamed live on Netflix. The bout was initially scheduled for July 20 but had to be postponed due to Tyson suffering an ulcer flare-up.
As a result, Paul instead fought bare-knuckle fighter Mike Perry, winning by a sixth-round TKO. Now given the all-clear, Tyson will step back into the ring professionally for the first time since his 2005 loss to Kevin McBride – his only appearance since then was an exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr four years ago.
Paul, on the other hand, has been actively building a 10-1 record since turning pro in 2020, defeating opponents like Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley, and Anderson Silva. With a thrilling match expected, Record Sport has detailed the rules for the eagerly awaited Tyson vs Paul fight – including several unique adaptations that may surprise fans…
Eight two-minute rounds
Away from the norms, Tyson and Paul will be battling it out over eight two-minute rounds instead of the usual three-minute ones – mirroring the format of Tyson’s 2020 exhibition bout with Jones Jr. According to Mirror Fighting, it was Tyson who requested the shorter rounds, sharing: “I wanted the shorter rounds because I wanted more action. If we only have two minutes, we’ll fight more.”
Knockouts are permitted
Contrary to the rules set for Tyson and Jones Jr’s match four years ago where knockouts were strictly off-limits, the method of victory will be allowed in the upcoming bout. Despite the ‘Lockdown Knockdown’ event not seeing either contender close to knocking the other out, with Jones favouring flashy footwork while Tyson focused on body shots, come Saturday morning, both Paul and Tyson will undoubtedly be aiming for a knockout finish.
Both fighters have been sharing footage on social media of them dropping sparring partners, raising anticipation about whether Tyson still has the speed to close in on Paul, and if the ‘Problem Child’ can locate his opponent’s well-guarded chin.
Heavier gloves
Tyson and Paul will also be donning 14-ounce gloves for their upcoming bout, as opposed to the usual ten-ounce gloves used in regular heavyweight contests. These heavier gloves, typically reserved for bag work and sparring sessions due to their additional padding, are being used for reasons yet to be disclosed.
Judging
As for the scoring, if neither man is knocked out or retires and they make it to the final bell, the outcome of the fight will be determined by three ringside judges. The professional boxing 10-point must-scoring system will be utilised during Tyson’s match with Paul.
Under this system, the winner of each round is awarded ten points, while the opponent is usually given nine – a judge can give a score lower than nine if they feel the fighter has been completely outclassed. Judges normally consider punches landed and the impact of them, aggression, control of the action, defence, and the cleanliness of shots when scoring.
Points are also deducted for every knockdown a fighter suffers in a round. For instance, if a boxer is knocked down once, the score becomes 10-8; if twice, it’s 10-7, and so on. However, if both fighters are knocked down an equal number of times in a round, these are cancelled out and the judges revert to the 10-9 system.
Fighters may also lose a point if the referee deems a significant foul has been committed. Consequently, a round could end in a 9-9 draw if the superior fighter over the two-minute period is penalised with a point deduction. If judges deem the round to be evenly matched, they will score it 10-10.
After the fight, the judges’ scorecards are added up and totalled before the MC announces the winner of the bout. There are five possible outcomes from each bout which end up going the distance, in unanimous, split and majority decisions to indicate a winner, as well as a draw and a majority draw.