Former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson will fight YouTuber turned fighter Jake Paul in a boxing match on July 20.

The bout will take place at the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

The clash will air live on Netflix, the streaming platform’s first broadcast of a combat sports event.

The match is very likely to be lucrative for both fighters, who have a three-decade age gap, but will set tongues wagging in the boxing world, which regards such match-ups as tarnishing the reputation of a once-serious sport.

Big money

Paul, 27, earned about US$9 million from a loss in 2023 to the boxer and reality TV star Tommy Fury.

The upcoming match will see both men earn far more, with the younger man showing his appetite to make the crossover leap with yet another supposed boxing showdown.

Paul rose to fame as a YouTube prankster, but has since embarked on a career making bank as a competent boxer, albeit a limited one.

Before his loss to Fury, he held a 6-0 record, although some of his opponents were of debatable quality.

Since then he has won his last three fights, making it 10 fights fought in total.

“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time,” Paul said.

“This will be the fight of a lifetime.”

Tyson, 57, said he recognised his opponent’s credentials and talked a good game.

“He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a kid can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT,” he said.

“It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him.”

Paul has previously spoken of facing Tyson after knocking out former basketball player Nate Robinson on the undercard of "Iron Mike’s" exhibition bout against fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr, which took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in November 2020.

Exhibition or professional?

It is not clear if the upcoming fight could go ahead as an exhibition or as an official professional fight, which will depend on the Texas department of licensing and regulation that sanctions fights in the state.

Tyson will be 58 by the time he gets in the ring.

The "baddest man on the planet" is one of the most famous and greatest heavyweights in boxing history, in an oft-controversial 20-year career in the sport.

Tyson became the youngest fighter ever to claim a world title in the sport’s blue riband division.

He initially ended his career in 2005 following his losses to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride, but made his official comeback against Jones Jr in 2020.

The exhibition fight ended in a draw after eight two-minute rounds.

Top photos via Mike Tyson Facebook & Jake Paul X