Fight night.
It used to be a glamourous, must-see TV American tradition, with boxers like Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. Now, it is back – albeit in a vastly different form and forum – in what is probably the most hyped bout of the past decade.
Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who earned the moniker “Iron Mike’ for his powerful and devastating blows, will face “Problem Child’ Jake Paul, who has risen from YouTube influencer to a boxer in a manner once unimaginable in one of the oldest sports in the world. The scheduled eight-round bout Friday night will take place not under the hot lights of a casino in Las Vegas but in the middle of an NFL football field – outside at AT&T Stadium in Irving, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Tyson, 58, has not fought since a 2020 exhibition. Paul, 27, started boxing recently after a career in MMA, preceded by time as a child actor on a Disney show. His last bout was a sixth-round TKO victory in July.
USA TODAY Sports offers a ringside look at how each man got here: