STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The boxer, once called the baddest man on the planet, returns to the ring tomorrow.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MIKE TYSON: I am not going to lose. Did you hear what I said?
(CHEERING)
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Mike Tyson fights the YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JAKE PAUL: I'm going to continue to do the biggest fights, the biggest pay-per-views, the biggest streams across the board and just continue to push myself.
INSKEEP: OK. Netflix and Most Valuable Promoters (ph) hosted a news conference with both fighters last night on this match between a 58-year-old former champ and a much younger 27-year-old whose fame is rooted in social media.
MIKE COPPINGER: Jake Paul's found a lot of success with these type of novelty events, but now he's taken it to a new level with really one of the most famous people in the entire world.
FADEL: Mike Coppinger covers boxing for ESPN and says it's not the usual pro fight.
COPPINGER: Going to be more spectacle than sport. It's going to make a lot of money for a lot of people and generate a ton of interest.
FADEL: The fight was initially suggested as an exhibition. Now, it's been sanctioned as a professional fight by the state of Texas.
COPPINGER: What having a sanctioned fight does is it opens up the betting lines. So a lot of states are offering betting for this fight, and they wouldn't otherwise offer that for an exhibition 'cause that would mean no official winner, no judges.
INSKEEP: Plenty of attention on the more senior boxer in this match. Mike Tyson has not fought professionally in 19 years. And over that time, Coppinger says he's had some issues.
COPPINGER: This is a 58-year-old that had a long boxing career - amateur and pro - being punched in the head. A lot of health issues. He was in a wheelchair. He used the cane a couple of years ago due to a sciatica flare-up. And this fight was postponed from its original June date after Tyson suffered an ulcer on a flight. So not exactly at the picture of health for an athlete.
FADEL: Which is why the fight will go fewer rounds, and the rounds will be shorter than the usual three minutes each. The boxing gloves also weigh more for more padding and softer punches.
INSKEEP: Wow. You know, I'm just thinking about how 30 or 40, 50 years ago, boxing was a major sport. Muhammad Ali - giant star. George Foreman - giant star. Mike Tyson was really the last huge star as boxing declined in recent years. But here he is still coming back one more time, and Netflix predicts this will be the most-watched boxing match ever. We'll see. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
