Katie Taylor v Amanda Serrano rematch, followed by Jake Paul v Mike Tyson – live | Boxing

Mario Barrios retains WBC welterweight title by split draw

Why is Paul v Tyson? The 27-year-old influencer, who has managed to develop into a competent boxer since taking up the sport and turning professional in 2020, winning 10 of 11 bouts against mostly faded MMA fighters and fellow YouTubers, insists it’s another step toward his quixotic goal of winning a world title, saying: “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.”

True as that may be, the short money is no small incentive. Paul closed a lucrative deal with Netflix last November to stream one of his upcoming fights before Tyson was even in the frame. The interest (and money) only ballooned with the addition of the former heavyweight champion, who had not fought in an official bout since quitting on his stool after six rounds against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride in June 2005.

Upset alert! Abel Ramos went off as a nearly 8-1 underdog in his title fight with Mario Barrios. But Ramos just detonated a massive right hand on the champion’s chin that dropped him to the canvas in the sixth round of an already close fight. The WBC welterweight title hangs in the balance …

This week our Sean Ingle wrote about his personal disdain for Paul v Tyson, saying it “feels more like a sham or a circus than a genuine sporting event”. That said, he can’t deny there’s a robust market for it.

Most boxing fans [hate the idea of Paul v Tyson]. It sells a myth that wasn’t even close to being a reality in 2004, let alone 2024: namely that Tyson is one of the most ferocious warriors alive, not a 58-year-old who lost 26lb in May after an ulcer flare-up that left him throwing up blood and defecating tar. It risks Tyson’s boxing reputation and his health. And, Netflix’s lavish promotion aside, it feels more like a sham or a circus than a genuine sporting event.

But I may be wrong. Certainly [legendary British publicist Mark] Borkowksi thinks so. He believes the fight is straight out of the playbook of PT Barnum, the greatest showman of all and a curator of the absurd and extraordinary, who instinctively knew what the public wanted long before they did. And that it will cut through to the masses.

“Barnum understood how to engage the crowd – the great herd, the great unwashed,” he says. “This fight is about opportunism. It’s about creative thinking. And it is already generating the oxygen of publicity, which is always an indication that something is going to be very successful.”

As Borkowski points out, it taps into two big markets: Boomers and Gen Xers, who grew up watching Tyson, as well as the younger generations who worship Jake Paul, many of whom will want to watch.

“A lot of people, particularly boys, project themselves into male influencers like Paul,” he says. “In some ways, they are their best mates – whether it’s watching them play Call of Duty, or seeing the Jackass-influenced generation of pranksters doing outrageous things on social. So they will be watching this. And so will those who grew up with Tyson in his prime. So while purists might sneer, there’s a market for this. And Netflix knows it.”

Moving right along. Next up is the first of two world title fights on the televised undercard: Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos in a scheduled 12-round fight for Barrios’ World Boxing Council welterweight championship.

It’s worth mentioning the 29-year-old from San Antonio never earned his title in the ring, instead being declared champion by the WBC after previous holder Terence Crawford (who’d unified all four belts at 147lbs) moved up a weight class to fight Israil Madrimov.

Some of the most illustrious names in the history of boxing have owned the WBC welterweight belt over the years, among them Crawford, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad, Pernell Whitaker, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Emile Griffith.

Barrios, a former beltholder at 140lbs, has a long way to go before joining that elite class, but he can take his first step tonight by getting through Ramos, a sizable underdog who has lost three of his past five outings.

A random thought as we await the next fight. Paul getting top billing over Tyson in all of the the promotional materials for tonight’s main event may seem strange given the chasm between their boxing accomplishments, but it’s not as unusual as it seems. The matter of whose name comes first on the poster, and other issues like the order the fighters make their ring entrances, are usually sorted out during the contract negotiations. The so-called A-side of a promotion typically calls the shots and it’s no surprise that Paul, whose Most Valuable Promotions company is organizing the event, fills that role.

What is unusual is seeing the fight listed on the primary ticket vendor’s website as Jake Paul w/ Mike Tyson, which appears to further downgrade Tyson from B-side to something of a backing singer.

Ultimately, it’s not a big deal. But it’s certainly a choice given the larger-than-normal skepticism around the competitive merit of tonight’s feature attraction.

Is Jake Paul v Mike Tyson for real? It’s the most common question we’ve fielded over the past few weeks. And the answer is, technically, yes. Unlike many of the similar novelty bouts throughout boxing history, the fight between Paul and Tyson is not an exhibition.

Despite concerns over the fighters’ three-decade age difference, along with Tyson’s inactivity and track record of health issues, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) determined the former champion’s physical condition met the criteria for the fight to be officially sanctioned. That means there will be three judges at ringside, an official winner will be declared and the result will count on their records. (It also means that sportsbooks can taking betting action on it, although at least six US states have deemed the event too untraditional to allow wagering.)

The Texas commission has taken some precautions. The fight will be scheduled for eight rounds instead of the typical 10 or 12, with two-minute rounds instead of the customary three. Tyson and Paul will also use 14oz gloves instead of the usual 10oz in order to lessen the power of the punches.

The first televised undercard bout is in the books. Neeraj Goyat has won a clean six-round unanimous decision over Whindersson Nunes. It was nearly a total shutout with the three ringside judges handing down scores of 59-55 and 60-54 (twice).

As expected, tonight’s card has shattered the record for the largest US boxing gate outside of Las Vegas. The promoters say the live gate for Paul v Tyson has surpassed $17.8 (£14.1), nearly twice the previous state record for a boxing or MMA event of $9m from Canelo Álvarez’s fight with Billy Joe Saunders in 2021.

Organizers said they are expecting more than 70,000 fans for tonight’s fights at AT&T Stadium, the 80,000-home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. As the Netflix telecast began at 7pm local time, thousands of box-office and resale tickets priced as low as $40 were still available, meaning any walk-up crowd may further raise the gate total.

Time for some boxing. India’s Neeraj Goyat and Brazil’s Whindersson Nunes have made their way to the ring for a six-round middleweight fight following a flashy performance by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders to AC/DC’s Thunderstruck.

Here’s what’s happened so far. Let’s do a little housekeeping before going any further and pass along the results from the non-televised undercard. We’ve had three fights so far before a mostly empty AT&T Stadium crowd:

Bruce ‘Shu Shu’ Carrington, a blue-chip featherweight prospect from Brooklyn signed with Top Rank Promotions, improved to 14 wins in 14 fights with an eight-round unanimous-decision win over late replacement Dana Coolwell. The Brownsville native dropped his opponent two times including in the final round, but Coolwell beat the count and made it to the final bell. Carrington won in a complete shutout with all three ringside judges handing down scores of 80-70.

Lucas Bahdi moved closer to a world title shot after the unbeaten lightweight prospect handed Italy’s Armando Casamonica his first defeat with a disputed majority-decision win in a closer-than-expected 10-rounder. The heavy-handed Canadian was met with stiff resistance by the late replacement Casamonica, who took the fight on 10 days’ notice when Corey Marksman dropped out with a training injury. One judge had it a reasonable 95-95 while the other two handed down risible scores of 96-93 and 98-92 for Bahdi.

Shadasia Green, the former basketball player from Patterson, New Jersey, is a world champion at the second time of asking after winning a razor-thin 10-round split decision over Toronto’s Melinda Watpool for the WBO women’s super middleweight championship. Two of the three judges scored it for the 35-year-old known as the Sweet Terminator, overruling the third who had it 96-94 for Watpool in a fight where there was little to separate the two. Green had falled short in her first title shot last year, dropping a unanimous decision to Franchon Crews Dezurn for the vacant WBC strap.

Preamble

Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s his explainer with everything you need to know about tonight’s event.

Mike Tyson is returning to professional boxing for the first time in nearly two decades on Friday night in Texas. The 58-year-old former undisputed heavyweight champion is fighting YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a made-for-Netflix showdown expected to draw a global audience of around 300m viewers.

But is that all you really need to know? What about the rules, how much they’re getting paid and the *checks notes* 31-year age difference. Read on for all the answers …

Where and when is the fight?

The seven-fight card is being held at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium, the $1.2bn home of the NFL’s Cowboys in Arlington, about 20 miles west of Dallas. It’s hard to pin down an exact time for the main event, but Paul and Tyson will not make their entrances before 11pm ET (4am GMT).

Where can I watch it?

The broadcast will stream live globally on Netflix starting at 8pm ET (1am GMT) at no additional cost to subscribers. There will be three televised preliminary fights, including Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in a hotly anticipated rematch of their 2022 classic, leading up to the main event. The stream will feature options for live commentary in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German.

The first three undercard bouts not carried by the Netflix stream will be available free on Most Valuable Promotions’ YouTube, Netflix Sports YouTube and Tudum starting at 5.30pm ET (10.30pm GMT).

Who else is fighting?

Hearn isn’t alone in calling it a circus. But with two world title fights on the TV undercard, there’s plenty of value on offer for viewers who aren’t keen on watching two men with more than 30 years between them exchange blows. The order of play is as follows:

The best fight on the card by some distance is Taylor’s rematch with Serrano in defense of all four major title belts at 140lbs. Their first encounter before a sold-out Madison Square Garden two years ago was a contest of extreme physical and psychological intensity that somehow exceeded the breathless hype that preceded it. My heart was pounding so much I had a headache. If Friday night’s second installment matches it for drama, don’t be surprised if they close out the trilogy with a third before 90,000 at Croke Park.