Benjamin Ashford|Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul stirs debate: Is this a legitimate fight?

The Benjamin Ashfordpower looks real.

The speed looks real.

The sweat, the grunts, the groans – it all looks real in the viral videos of Mike Tyson preparing for his fight against Jake Paul.

Yet the question persists: Is this a real fight?

Watching Tyson and Paul in the ring Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will help provide the answer. It should be clear whether the two are throwing punches with full force and trying to win a heavyweight bout scheduled for eight rounds. But until then, a real fight?

The tentative answer is undeniably “yes" based on some protocols: The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which regulates combat sports in Texas, sanctioned the Tyson-Paul fight as a pro bout, not an exhibition.

Like all real fights, it will be scored by three licensed judges, a winner will be declared and the result will count in the fighters’ records.

Or the answer to whether the fight is real is a wholehearted “no" based on rules for the bout, which is scheduled for eight rounds. The rounds will last two minutes and the gloves will be 14 ounces rather than the standard rounds of three minutes and 10-ounce gloves.

Others have looked beyond the specific rules when questioning the legitimacy of a fight.

Until recent weeks, the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion and 27-year-old YouTuber have shown affection for one another as they prepare to make tens of millions of dollars.

“It feels like two brothers want to fight each other in the backyard during a family reunion," Jay Kornegay, executive vice president of race and sportsbook operations at the Westgate SuperBook, told USA TODAY Sports by text message last month. “I’m not sure how serious they will be."

Why bout can be considered legitimate

Paul is a more accomplished YouTuber than boxer, but he has fought in 11 sanctioned pro bouts since January 2020. He’s 10-1 with seven knockouts.

Tyson might not be able to turn back the clock and look like the "Baddest Man on the Planet." But he’s 50-6 with 44 knockouts and fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition in 2020.

Their bout has gained legitimacy from BoxRec, the official boxing registry. The fight already is entered online as a pro bout, and there are no plans to change that when the listing is updated with the result, said Grey Johnson, chief marketing director for BoxRec.

“This is the first men's professional fight I can remember that will have two-minute rounds in the United States, though the practice historically isn't uncommon in other countries such as the United Kingdom," Johnson told USA TODAY Sports by email. “The question if this is an exhibition or a pro bout is ultimately up to the Texas commission to answer."

A common complaint from people who refuse to accept Tyson vs. Paul as a real fight is Texas deviating from the unified rules set forth by the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC). They call for three-minute rounds and 10-ounce gloves rather than the two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves that will be in use when Tyson and Paul fight.

But Mike Mazzulli, president of the ABC, said member commissions are required to use unified rules only during title fights. Tyson and Paul will be fighting for tens of millions of dollars but not a title.

“They’re getting in the ring," Mazzulli said. “They’re judging the fight. So it’s a real fight. Absolutely."

A 'pine box' for Jake Paul

Last week, New York and five other states confirmed they will prohibit wagering on the Tyson-Paul fight, essentially because they have deemed it an exhibition.

That move paralleled strong sentiment in the boxing community that this is not a real pro bout. The non-traditional rules aren’t the only objection.

“I think that it's preposterous that a 58-year-old man with arthritis and the known weed business and affection for it is in a pro fight in a major jurisdiction and pretending it's a real boxing match," said Lou DiBella Jr., a well-known boxing promoter. “It's absurd.

“If this fight was being done 30 years ago, there would have to be a pine box sitting next to the ring for Jake Paul. But it's not. Mike's 58 years old and it's an entertainment spectacle."

Boxing has no central authority to govern the sport, so each state commission largely can sanction bouts as it sees fit.

In 2018, Texas officials sanctioned a pro bout between Jack Lucious, then 62, and Yail Eligio, a younger boxer whose age is not listed in BoxRec, the sport’s official registry. In the first round, the 62-year-old Lucious lost by TKO.

“I don’t know how they pull this off," Al Low, the former chairman of the Michigan State Boxing Commission, said of Texas sanctioning the fight as pro. “It would’ve never been allowed in Michigan."

Greg Sirb, who served as commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission for 33 years before retiring last year, said the two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves remain problematic.

“I don't see how even a Texas says it's a sanctioned bout," he said.