The long-awaited boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul finally gets underway when the pair meet in the ring on Friday night. However, as you might expect from a fight between the 58-year-old former undisputed heavyweight champion and a 27-year-old social media star at the start of his professional boxing career, this is no ordinary boxing match. So you should expect some different fighting rules for this game.
The fight is not an exhibition match, but a sanctioned professional match that goes down in the annals of sports. However, ahead of Friday night’s fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation approved several modified rules. Here is a breakdown of the rules for the fight between Paul and Tyson.
The fight between Paul and Tyson will be 8 rounds only
While boxing matches can certainly have fewer rounds (Olympic boxing has only three rounds), professional fights usually consist of 9 to 12 rounds.
However, the fight between Paul and Tyson would consist of only eight rounds, which is also short, assuming neither fighter is able to achieve a knockout.
Each round will last two minutes
Another departure from the norm, the fight between Paul and Tyson will be eight two-minute rounds instead of the standard three-minute rounds.
“I wanted shorter rounds because I wanted more action,” Tyson said at a press conference in May 2024. “If we only have two minutes, we’re going to fight harder.”
Knockouts allowed
Mike Tyson’s last professional fight was in 2005. But he returned to the ring for an exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. That fight had a no-knockout clause.
There is no such agreement for the Paul Tyson fight, meaning knockouts are allowed (and promised).
“I love that killer. Paul: “I want the toughest game possible on Friday night and I don’t want anyone to have any excuses when I fire him.” He said during the previous press conference.
They will also be wearing thicker gloves
Both Tyson and Paul will wear 14-ounce gloves during the fight, instead of the standard 10-ounce gloves used for heavyweight division fights. Heavy gloves are typically used during training to protect the hands.
Tyson was asked about the change during a recent Newsmax interview and the fighter said succinctly: “Well, you know, most ten-ounce gloves don’t fit my hands very well. And the 14-ounce ones don’t fit well either. But they’re comfortable enough.”
A source