Netflix announced Thursday that it is producing a documentary chronicling the build toward the highly anticipated boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
The Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson will be released in two parts on Netflix on Nov. 7 and 12 ahead of the fight, which is scheduled for Nov. 15.
Tyson and Paul will clash at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and it will mark one of the first major sporting events to stream live on Netflix.
Originally scheduled for July 20, the fight had to get moved back four months due to Tyson suffering from an ulcer, but it appears all systems are go for the bout in November.
Tyson is widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, posting a 50-6 record during his career and winning multiple world heavyweight titles, but he has been out of the game for a long time.
The 58-year-old legend has not had an official boxing match since 2005, although he did face Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition in 2020 and looked impressive.
It was widely assumed that the fight against Paul would be an exhibition as well, but Tyson and Paul were able to get it cleared as a sanctioned fight featuring eight two-minute rounds.
While Tyson has a significant edge when it comes to experience and accomplishments, Paul is 31 years his junior at just 27 years of age.
Paul has also been far more active as a boxer in recent years, as he made his amateur debut in 2018 and has had 11 professional fights since 2020.
His 10-1 record with seven knockouts is impressive, but Paul’s quality of competition has often been questioned since the bulk of his opponents were aging former UFC fighters.
Paul’s only loss was to a legitimate boxer in Tommy Fury, who is the younger brother of former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
While Paul did decisively beat boxers Andre August and Ryan Bourland in two recent bouts, they are little-known fighters who pale in comparison to a Hall of Famer like Tyson.
The biggest question as it relates to Tyson’s chances of being able to beat Paul is if he is fit enough at nearly 60 years of age to go the distance if need be, and it is possible some of those questions will be answered in the docuseries since it figures to show Tyson’s preparation for his first official fight in nearly 20 years.
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