Jake Paul will be familiar with the referee overseeing his fight against Mike Tyson on Netflix, having come across local official Mark Calo-oy when he took on Nate Diaz
Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson will be overseen by a referee who previously took charge of a fight which Paul won.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer is fighting the legendary heavyweight in front of a huge crowd at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on Friday night. The bout will be broadcast live on Netflix after Tyson slapped his opponent during a tetchy final meeting at the face-off.
Paul is favoured by the bookies – due a large part because he is 31 years younger than 58-year-old Tyson. He has a 10-1 record in boxing with his only defeat coming on points against Tommy Fury in 2023.
And one of those victories came with Mark Calo-oy – a veteran referee from Texas – inside the ring. Calo-oy refereed Paul’s bout against UFC great Nate Diaz in August 2023 in Dallas – a 10-round fight which ended with a unanimous decision in his favour.
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Mike Tyson will face Jake Paul in the ring on November 15. The fight will air exclusively on Netflix, which is available for free with Sky’s latest TV deal.
Shoppers can get the Sky Stream bundle for £19 a month with a new Black Friday deal that comes with a free Netflix subscription
The 64-year-old official has been chosen because he is no stranger to big fights in front of large crowds in Texas. He oversaw the world title bout between Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders in 2021 at AT&T Stadium in front of a crowd of 73,126.
Paul and Tyson are fighting over eight two-minute rounds in a departure from conventional boxing rules, due to doubts over Tyson’s stamina to last 10 or 12 rounds. They are also set to wear 14oz gloves, instead of the 10oz ones which professional heavyweight fights usually involve.
Knockdowns and knockouts are permitted and there will be a winner on Friday night, with scoring deciding the victor if the fight goes the whole 16-minute distance. The fight is expected to start at 4am on Saturday in the UK – a 10pm start on Friday in Dallas.
Regardless of who wins, Paul will earn a reported $40million (£31.6m) for Friday’s event while Tyson is said to be taking home $20m (£15.8m). The two of them put on a good show in the final face-off, doing their best to suggest that the fight isn’t just about money.
After Tyson slapped Paul, the 27-year-old took the microphone from the host and screamed: “I didn’t even feel it. He’s angry. He’s an angry little elf. Mike Tyson, I thought that was a cute slap, buddy, but tomorrow you’re getting knocked the f*** out. I’m f***ing him up. “He hits like a b***, it’s personal now, he must die!”
Tyson explained why he lashed out: “I was in my socks and he had on shoes. He stepped on my toe because he is an a**hole. I wanted to think it happened by accident. But now I think it may have happened on purpose,” he added. I was in a lot of pain. I had to reciprocate.”
