Mike Tyson and Jake Paul finally meet this weekend(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight rules including KOs and gloves after huge change

by · Wales Online

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul go toe-to-toe in the boxing ring this weekend, but the rules differ to what fight fans are used to seeing.

At 58, Tyson takes on YouTube-sensation-turned-pro-boxer Paul, 27, at the ATandT Stadium in Arlington Texas in front of a capacity crowd in an event which will be streamed live and direct on Netflix. While the two men were initially set to cross paths on July 20, Tyson was forced to postpone the bout due to an ulcer flare-up, with 'Problem Child' Paul instead taking on bare knuckle fighter Mike Perry - winning by sixth-round TKO.

Having since been given the green light to compete, Tyson will step into the ring for the first time in a professional capacity since his 2005 loss to Kevin McBride in the early hours of Saturday morning, having only returned since for an exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr four years ago.

Paul has been far more active meanwhile, carefully crafting a 10-1 record since turning pro in 2020 - besting the likes of Nate Diaz, Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva to name but a few of his fallen opponents. And with a barn-burner anticipated, Wales Online look at all of the rules for the highly-anticipated upcoming bout between Tyson and Paul - including a number of special adaptations which may seem foreign to fight fans...

Eight two-minute rounds

While most professional boxing fights are held over three-minute rounds, Tyson and Paul will instead dance over eight reduced two-minute rounds - in similar fashion to 'Iron' Mike's 2020 exhibition bout with Jones Jr. Mirror Fighting report that Tyson was the man who asked for the two-minute rounds as opposed to three-minute rounds.

He is quoted by the publication as saying: "I wanted the shorter rounds because I wanted more action. If we only have two minutes, we'll fight more."

Roy Jones Jr and Mike Tyson fought in 2020(Image: Getty Images for Triller)

Knockouts ARE allowed

Another weird rule which was put in place between Tyson and Jones Jr four years ago was that knockouts were strictly forbidden. Of course, neither man looked like knocking the other out in the 'Lockdown Knockdown' event, with Jones happy to dance around with flashy footwork while Tyson ripped hard to the body rather than the head.

However, come Saturday morning, knockouts will be allowed and there's no doubt that both Paul and Tyson will be looking for a sensational finish throughout. Both fighters have took to social media to share footage of themselves dropping sparring partners as of late, and it will be exciting to see whether Tyson still has the speed to close the distance on Paul, and whether the 'Problem Child' can find the incredibly well tucked chin of his foe.

Heavier gloves

Tyson and Paul would each sport ten ounce gloves if this was a regular heavyweight contest, but at the weekend, Paul and Tyson will both make the switch to 14 ounce mitts. Heavier gloves like this are usually reserved for bag work and sparring sessions to limit damage, due to having more padding. But for reasons yet to be explained, both men will rock them when they meet in the centre of the ring at the weekend.

Jake Paul took on Mike Perry as his bout with Tyson was postponed(Image: Getty Images)

The scoring situation

Should a knockout or a retirement fail to come from either man and they in fact make it to hear the final bell, three ringside judges will decide the outcome of the bout. Professional boxing uses a 10 point must scoring system which will be in place during Tyson's bout with Paul, which works as follows.

Judges give ten points to the winner of each round, while awarding nine to the combatant who is unable to land as many punches. If similar levels of punches are landed, judges then turn their attention to who was more aggressive, who controlled the action, who had a better defence, and who's shots were cleaner.

However, judges also deduct a point from a combatant for every knockdown they suffer in a round. If a boxer is knocked down once, the score will be 10-8, if it happens twice, the score will be 10-7 and so on. However, if both competitors are knocked down the same amount of times in a round, they are cancelled out and the judges return to a 10-9 system.

Fighters can also be deducted a point when the referee believes that there has been a significant foul committed, thus, a round could ultimately end 9-9 if the better fighter over the two-minute period is stripped of a point. If judges believe that the round is even, they will score it 10-10, although this doesn't happen often.

After the fight, the judges' scorecards are tallied up and totalled before the winner of the bout is announced by the MC. There are five outcomes from each bout which goes the distance which are also broken down below.

  • Unanimous decision - All three judges name the same person as the winner of the bout.
  • Split decision - Two judges score one boxer as the winner, while the final judge gives the nod to the other combatant. For example, Paul's February 2023 loss to Tommy Fury came via split decision when two judges had the Englishman up on their cards while the other had Paul up.
  • Majority decision - Two judges score the bout for one person, while the other's scorecard reads as a draw.
  • Draw - If all three judges have the contest as even, or one picks one fighter as the winner, the other picks the other, and the third scores it a draw, the contest is scored as a draw overall.
  • Majority draw - If two of the three judges score the fight as even, but the third judge puts one of the boxers ahead, the contest is considered a majority draw with no winner or loser.