Hyped Mike Tyson fight means a big opportunity for a pair of Canadian boxers

Melinda Watpool, front left, and Shadasia Green, front right, face off during a news conference ahead of their WBO super middleweight world title bout in the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul undercard, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Ontario boxers Melinda Watpool and Lucas Bahdi will fight opponents in undercard matchups, before the much-anticipated Mike Tyson and Jake Paul showdown Friday night at 8 p.m. EST.

For months, debate has swirled around the much-hyped Jake Paul and Mike Tyson boxing bout.

Will it happen? Can it count, considering the departures from normal gear and procedure? Is it altogether, “real”?

But for a pair of Canadian boxers, there’s no question: Friday’s big event is a real opportunity for them to show their skills and climb the ranks in the fighting world.

“I’m here to show and prove that I am one of the best lightweights on the planet right now,” said Lucas Bahdi, who believes he fought his way onto the Most Valuable Promotions-organized event when he upset their upcoming star Ashton Sylve in July.

“I got called as a last-minute replacement to fight their top prospect,” he said. “I spoiled the show and knocked him out.”

Armando Casamonica, front left, and Lucas Bahdi, front right, pose for photographers during a news conference ahead of their Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul undercard fight, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Bahdi will face off against Italian boxer Armando Casamonica. It’s one of the six undercard events that will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX., ahead of the Tyson-Paul showdown.

“I got the opportunity to be on the biggest card of, probably the decade,” Bahdi said.

Fellow Canadian Melinda Watpool’s path to the big stage was more deliberate: She turned down Most Valuable Promotions “a couple of times,” she said, honing her skills against other opponents instead.

But Friday, she’ll fight Shadasia Green for the World Boxing Organization’s women’s super middleweight title.

“We want this title now,” Watpool said. “This was part of my plan… the last seventeen years of my boxing training has led up to this and we’re going to seize that moment.”

Watpool was 17 when she walked past a pool hall in Ajax, Ont., and down the stairs into a boxing gym. She’s been hooked ever since.

“I walked through the door, I could hear the music blaring. I walk in, it’s sweaty, there’s guys hitting the bag, it’s hot. And I just thought to myself, ‘Yep, this is exactly where I want to be.’”

About 80,000 people are expected in the stands at AT&T Stadium on Friday. Thousands — maybe millions — more will be watching online. The Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight will be streamed on Netflix, at no additional charge to subscribers.

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Watpool says it matters that Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions are including several women’s matches in the program.

“That’s going to be a huge viewership and it’s going to show the world what women can compete in, that they are very technical strong boxers,” she said.

Bahdi played soccer and hockey as a teenager, but said he “just wanted to fight all the time,” which took him to boxing.

He’s 17-0, with 15 knockouts in his career.

He’s embracing representing Canada in Friday’s big event.

“I’m born for moments like this. This is what I trained for,” he said. “This is what I asked for and this is what I got.”