Jake Paul is taking Mike Tyson seriously. Very seriously.

Too seriously? We’ll find out on fight night in two months inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., on July 20. Regardless, the stakes were raised for both when the bout was officially sanctioned as a professional boxing match this past week.

It was unknown exactly what type of boxing match the pairing would compete in at the time of its announcement in March. The age gap between the 27-year-old Paul and 57-year-old Tyson is wide enough to have caused concern throughout the combat sports world. From a lot of perspectives, it will be nothing more than a cash grab as the first live boxing event aired on Netflix. For the 9-1 Paul, he’s treating his legendary foe as the same level of danger that he once was in his prime.

“It’s an honor to be in the ring with him, but I have to end him,” Paul said during the Formula One Grand Prix on Monday in Miami (h/t MMA Mania). ‘’It’s war. All is fair in love and war. I love the guy, but as soon as it turned into a pro-fight, one of us has to die.

“He’s a legend. I love the guy. But at the end of the day, it’s war and sometimes you just have to go to war and put it all on the line. I still have the utmost respect for him, and I think he’ll say the same about me and what I’ve done for the sport.”

When Tyson (50-6, 2 NC) enters the ring against “The Problem Child,” it will be his first time doing so in a professional manner since his loss to Kevin McBride in June 2005. However, “Iron Mike” had an exhibition match with Corey Sanders one year later before retiring and ultimately returning for another against his fellow legend Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020. The bout went all eight rounds and was declared a split draw as knockouts were not allowed to be sought after.

A win for Paul would extend his winning streak to three straight after a unanimous decision over MMA veteran Nate Diaz and back-to-back first-round knockouts of Andre August and Ryan Bourland.