The highly awaited showdown between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was postponed last week when Tyson failed a medical examination due to an ulcer flare-up on a flight. Despite the hitch, both competitors insisted that the bout was still on. Less than a week later, the battle was rescheduled, and the jawing between the two competitors resumed.
Despite Tyson and Paul’s resolve to make this fight happen, Tyson is still at risk of missing it yet again. Tela Mange, head of communications for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), recently told World Boxing News that just because a new date has been selected does not guarantee that the fight will take place.
“TDLR rules state that licensure does not automatically authorize an individual to participate in an event if their health or safety could be compromised,” Mange stated. “As I believe I have previously stated, the Department will remain updated on the health of the combatants and will seek additional information if necessary to preserve their health and safety. In addition to pre-licensing medical screening, TDLR’s ringside physicians perform pre-fight physicals prior to the event.”
This means Tyson may be pulled from the fight as late as the day of the event. Mage does not say how near to the actual fight start time that Tyson could be pulled, but it appears that until that first bell rings, we may not see this.
The battle was originally scheduled on July 20, a Saturday night. The new date, November 15, is a Friday, which is unusual for large boxing events. So, why the change?
The battle will still take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which is home to the Dallas Cowboys. November marks the middle of the NFL season, and the Dallas Cowboys will play the Houston Texans on Monday, November 18. Stadium personnel want the battle to take place on Friday so that the team has enough time to prepare the stadium for the game three days later.
The earlier date was free of any significant sports conflicts outside of significant League Baseball, making the November 15 date even more difficult to prepare. However, combat coordinators appear to be confident that their existing strategy will work flawlessly.
