Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul Odds: ‘Iron’ Mike is the underdog for first time since 2002

Mike Tyson faces Jake Paul this Friday, November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Netflix will broadcast the show, their first ever foray into the world of live boxing coverage. Betfred Insights takes a look at the odds ahead of this unusual fight.

This is not your usual boxing match. One of the men involved is 58 years old and has not had a professional fight for 19 years. The other is over three decades younger and has fought a parade of retired UFC fighters, celebrities and inactive journeymen.

Mike Tyson is not a man accustomed to underdog status. But given his age, inactivity and the recent stomach ulcer that led to this fight’s postponement, it is a sensible position. Savour that use of the word “sensible”, you will not be hearing it again in relation to this fight.

‘Iron’ Mike, the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, is 9/5 to beat 10-1 YouTube star Paul. Even typing that sentence makes one question what the sport has come to. This was always a grubby, absorbing business. But this exhumation is among its darker recent days. Let’s just hope they’re paying Tyson well enough that he doesn’t try this again. Though you fear the spotlight is as much of a motivator as the gigantic purse reportedly on offer.

Jake is 8/13 to win this borderline attempted geriatricide. If he can’t beat up a man who lost 30 pounds due to a debilitating stomach ulcer in spring then his grotesque distortion of a boxing career really has been a waste of everyone’s time. ‘El Gallo’ will tell us all that he beat the ferocious former ‘Kid Dynamite’ if he wins this. He didn’t, he just beat an old man who looks a lot like Mike Tyson.

The draw that I backed in my predictions piece is now priced at 8/1. It still strikes me as the most realistic solution to all this unpleasantness. A hassle-free solution where the only thing these men risk is the audience’s patience. Better that than Tyson’s health.

If you want to party like it’s 1989, a Tyson knockout, technical knockout, technical decision or disqualification is priced at 7/4. Imagine getting that price back when he still had hair. Paul to do the same is 11/8. God, I hope not.

Mike on points is 12/1. If this one lands it would be just the sixth time Tyson had won a fight by decision in 57 bouts. Stranger things have happened, including Mike Tyson boxing on the platform that broadcasts Stranger Things. If Paul can avoid a trip to the Upside Down then he is 11/4 to win on the scorecards.

One thing every pundit and ex-pro seem to universally agree on is that if Tyson is to win, he must do so early. If you fancy the Baddest Man on the Planet in rounds 1-2, you can back that at 7/1. Paul is 11/2 to win in rounds 3-4, if you reckon ‘The Problem Child’ will seize on a tiring Mike after his early exertions.

Tyson has competed in 24 fights that have ended in the first round. If you think Friday’s bout will become the 25th then a first-round finish, no matter the victor, is 8/1. If you think the fight is going long, the full distance is priced at 6/4 while an ending inside the eight-twos is 8/15.

Like the Trump presidency, a spillage in a supermarket aisle or a pimple on your friend’s nose; it is hard to look away from this mess. The names are box office even if this is looking more like Righteous Kill than Heat. The fact Netflix doesn’t have the latter, a searing 1995 masterpiece starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro, but does have the former, a washed-up reunion flick released 15 years later, serves as a perfect metaphor for this fight.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.