Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight rules finally confirmed in major U-turn which could change everything

The much-anticipated bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson on July 20 will officially be classified as a sanctioned, heavyweight professional fight, it has been confirmed.

Former undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson is set to go toe-to-toe with YouTube personality Paul, who extended his professional record to 9-1 with a first-round victory over Ryan Bourland.

The card will also feature an undisputed super lightweight championship title fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano – a rematch of their 2022 contest.

The event will be streamed exclusively on Netflix on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from the 80,000-seat capacity AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Since it was announced, it has been rumoured that Tyson's fight with Paul would be an exhibition bout. Tyson initially claimed it would be a "real fight" under exhibition rules.

But Paul later stated that he hoped to get it fully licensed as professional.

Now, after much speculation, it has been confirmed that the fight will be contested over eight, two-minute rounds with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves.

A report from ESPN also confirmed that the outcome will go down on their professional boxing records.

Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian confirmed the news in a statement.

"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," he told the publication.

"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."

Both Tyson and Paul have confirmed the news on social media.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Tyson said: "Yes it's a real sanctioned fight with @jakepaul, while Paul wrote: "Mike Tyson wanted it to be a pro fight. Netflix wanted it to be a pro fight. So I agreed to make it a pro fight. Winner takes all."

Speaking earlier this month, Tyson said he was treating his fight with Paul as professional, even if it wouldn't be classed as such on official records.

"This is called an exhibition, but if you look up exhibition, you won't see any of the laws we're fighting under," he told Fox News.

"This is a fight. I don't think he's faster than me. I've seen a YouTube video of him at 16 doing weird dancing.

"That's not the guy I'm fighting. This is a guy who's going to try and hurt me, which I'm accustomed to, and he's going to be greatly mistaken."

Paul, meanwhile, has predicted he will be "too fast" for the 57-year-old, who hasn't competed as a professional since he was 38.

"I think he's underestimating me, I truly, truly think that," Paul said.

"It's a heavyweight fight, he's the bigger man but I'm the faster man. He's the much stronger man but I'm fresh. He's experienced. I'm smart but in the ring he may be smarter. It's are really interesting match-up and people see the training videos and think he's a beast.

"But I know I have what it takes to beat him. It's an honour to be in the ring with him but I'm confident I'll have my hand raised. It's going to be tough, he's going to be getting inside but I believe I have the faster feet and faster hands and I'm going to be finding the angles."