The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations is sanctioning the scheduled bout between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul as an official fight.

"Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome," Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian said to ESPN's Andreas Hale. "Over the past six weeks, MVP has worked with its partners to satisfy the requirements of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) to sanction Paul vs. Tyson, and we are grateful that we have gotten to this point."

Tyson reacted to the news on X:

Tyson's age raised obvious questions about whether this would be an official fight or merely an exhibition. The former heavyweight champion will be 58 when he steps in the ring against Paul, 27, and his last professional fight was all the way back in 2005.

Tyson has since fought in two exhibitions, most recently going the distance for a draw with Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020.

Even with the 31-year age gap between the two, this might be Paul's stiffest test since losing a split decision to Tommy Fury in February 2023. He rebounded by beating former UFC star Nate Diaz and then racked up knockouts over largely anonymous foes (Andre August and Ryan Bourland).

Nobody is deluding themselves into believing the old "Iron Mike" will show up at AT&T Stadium on July 20, but it sure looks like Tyson still possesses plenty of punching power.

According to Hale, Paul vs. Tyson will consist of eight, two-minute rounds, so stamina may not be as much of an issue for the boxing legend compared to if they had agreed to the standard three-minute round length.