Paul out to 'prove everyone wrong' against Tyson

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has vowed to "prove everyone wrong" when he takes on former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on 20 July.

Paul, 27, has nine wins and one loss on his professional record, beating Ryan Bourland in his most recent bout in March.

Tyson, who will be 58 when the fight takes place, won 50 of his 56 contests before retiring in 2005 and was the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, doing so in 1987.

"A lot of people are doubting me," Paul said at a news conference in New York.

"I see a lot of Instagram comments saying: 'If Jake wins this fight, then it's rigged.'

"He's a warrior and he's been doing this his whole life so it's second nature to him. I've been doing this for four years and I'm going to show the world I can out-box Mike Tyson and prove everyone wrong."

In April, the bout, which takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, was officially sanctioned as a professional fight but will have certain conditions.

The contest can only be eight rounds of two minutes, and 14oz gloves must be worn, rather than 10oz.

Since hanging up his gloves, Tyson has competed in two exhibition fights, most recently against fellow former world champion Roy Jones Jr in 2020.

"I'm doing great but I'm really sore," Tyson said when asked how training has been.

"[Taking the fight] was a no-brainer, he's an up and coming guy on the scene. I like shaking the sports world to its core and I'm doing it now."

Paul made his professional boxing debut in January 2020 and has mainly faced YouTubers and ex-UFC fighters.

The American's sole defeat came against British fighter Tommy Fury - the younger brother of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson - via a split decision in 2023.

"This is quite literally history we are looking at here," Paul said.

"Mike Tyson wanted this to be a pro fight, he wants a war and I respect that. He wants to try to put an end to me, that's what all these fighters have been trying to do - end the YouTuber. If Mike can do that, then he's a hero.

"They call him Iron Mike Tyson but I'm Titanium Jake Paul."

Tyson enjoyed a six-fight run as the unified heavyweight champion before a defeat against Buster Douglas in 1990 - one of the biggest upsets in boxing history.

He regained the WBA and WBC titles in 1996 but suffered successive losses against Evander Holyfield. The second ended in disqualification for Tyson after he bit off part of Holyfield's ear.

In 1992, Tyson was convicted of rape, for which he served three years of a six-year prison sentence, and in 1999 he served a third of a 12-month sentence for a road rage assault.