Furious boxing fans voice anger as Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight rules finally confirmed

Boxing fans have voiced their anger after Mike Tyson and Jake Paul had their fight rules announced.

YouTuber turned boxer Paul and former heavyweight champion Tyson have seen their July 20 bout classified as a sanctioned, professional fight by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations.

The fight will be contested over eight, two-minute rounds with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves while the outcome will affect their professional boxing records.

"Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome," Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said in a statement to ESPN.

"Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point."

Since the fight was announced it has caused much controversy, given a thirty-year age gap between Paul, 27 and Tyson, 57.

In particular, fans were quick to criticise their Texas boxing commission's decision.

One person, writing on X, said: “Terrible look for the Texas boxing commission.” Another added: “This is actually sad.”

In a similar vein, a third said: “Absolute disgrace from Texas Commission.” A fourth person added: “Good chance it will be embarrassing.”

Meanwhile, upon the announcement of the news, Tyson emphatically said: “Yes it's a real sanctioned fight with Jake Paul.”

Tyson hasn’t won a professional boxing match since a knockout win over Clifford Etienne in February 2003. He has since been stopped by Danny Williams in 2004 and Kevin McBride in 2005.

Meanwhile, the 31-year age gap will be the biggest in the history of professional boxing, eclipsing the 24-year gap between Archie Moore (49) and Mike DiBiase (25) when they met in 1963.