Excitement is building in Boston ahead of former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson's highly-anticipated return to the boxing ring, squaring up against a much younger YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
Though Friday night's bout will be fought nearly 2,000 miles away in Dallas, restaurants and beer halls in and outside the Hub are sure to be rocking, with some recommending guests book in advance to ensure the best viewing experience.
The Bruins and Celtics won't be playing at the TD Garden, but it will feel like a game night at Banners Kitchen & Tap and The Greatest Bar as both are holding viewing parties.
Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, are set to fight at 10 p.m., with undercards starting at 8.
In Medford, Great American Beer Hall, which opened Labor Day Weekend, will also be putting the fights on their screens at a watch party.
"It's cool to see a different couple of generations come through on this," Dwight Hoover, director of operations at Banners, told the Herald on Thursday. "I am old enough to remember watching Tyson in his heyday which was pretty amazing."
"It will be fun to see these two guys go at it," he added. "You've got a guy who has built an entire persona around transitioning into combat sports going up against a guy who came up, lived and breathed it."
Hoover's eatery, right outside of the Garden, features a 40-foot television screen and 85 smaller displays.
Nick Moniz, general manager of Banners and Hub Hall, said he's "without a doubt" heard patrons talk about the fight. He added reservations are piling up quickly at the two-floor restaurant offering Top Golf simulators.
"I remember the folklore and the stories of Tyson and the sheer veracity, but obviously, Jake Paul," Moniz said. "It reminds me a little bit of that Rocky movie when he tried to make a comeback."
"It goes along with our storyline here with what else could we (do to) drive traffic," he added.
The fight will be streaming on Netflix, marking the platform's first-ever combat sports offering, rather than pay-per-view or traditional cable.
Tyson will be making his first sanctioned professional fight in almost 20 years. The former heavyweight sported a 50-6 record with 44 knockouts and retired after he lost to Kevin McBride in 2005, saying he didn't have anything left to give the sport.
Tyson last fought in an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. with no fans during the pandemic in 2020.
Paul is relatively new to the sport, the one-time social media influencer bringing a 10-1 record with seven knockouts mostly against mixed martial artists and journeymen boxers.
Several states wouldn't sanction the bout. Texas agreed to a fight that was eight rounds instead of 10 or 12, with two-minute rounds instead of three, and heavier gloves designed to lessen the power of punches.
Massachusetts gambling regulators considered those factors when they decided last week to allow the event to be bet on.
"The rules changes are trending toward safety, which was very influential for me," gaming commissioner Nakisha Skinner said.