Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul to be sanctioned, professional fight - ESPN

The July 20 bout between YouTuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson will be classified as a sanctioned, professional fight by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations.

The heavyweight showdown will be contested over eight, 2-minute rounds with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves. The outcome will affect their professional boxing 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,» Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement to ESPN. «Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point.» Since the announcement of the fight, which will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will be streamed on Netflix, there were questions surrounding what the rules would be given the two fighters have more than a three-decade age difference.

Tyson, 57, hasn't won a professional boxing match since a knockout win against Clifford Etienne in February 2003. He fought professionally twice after collecting his 50th win but was stopped by Danny Williams in 2004 and Kevin McBride in 2005.

By the time Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) enters the ring July 20, he will be 58. Paul will be 27.

That 31-year age gap will be the biggest in the history of professional boxing, eclipsing the 24-year gap between Archie Moore (49) and Mike DiBiase (25) when they met in 1963. Moore defeated DiBiase by third-round TKO, but he also was quite active, fighting four times as a 48-year-old before calling