Shark Week: Mike Tyson to Battle “Jaws” for New Special

No summer would be complete without the arrival of Discovery Channel‘s annual Shark Week celebration, honoring one of the most famous animals on the planet, with this year’s festivities seeing former boxer Mike Tyson getting in the water to go head to head with a shark for the special Tyson vs. Jaws: Rumble on the Reef, which will kick off the week-long event on Sunday, August 9th at 8 p.m. PT. It’s not entirely clear what audiences can expect from the event, as we don’t expect the boxer to actually harm any animals, but we’re quite intrigued by how the showdown will pan out.

Per press release, “Legendary boxer and entrepreneur Mike Tyson is taking on a new challenge…and he picked the most unlikely training partner. Iron Mike will go head to head with one of the ocean’s top apex predators in Tyson vs. Jaws: Rumble on the Reef. With famed ring announcer Michael Buffer calling the shots, these two heavyweights will square off underwater, where Mike Tyson will try to score a TKO over the massive shark… all in the name of research. And don’t worry, no sharks were harmed (or bitten) in the making of this episode.”

“I took on this challenger to overcome fears I still deal with in life,” Tyson shared. “I equate this with overcoming my fear of getting back into the ring at 54 years old. I learned from this experience doing Shark Week that whatever intimidates me, I am still able to step up to the challenge of overcoming anything that would prevent me from accomplishing my life’s mission of reaching my highest potential in life and bringing me closer to God.”

The pop-culture phenomenon will combine the best of science and technology to capture the secret lives of sharks taking viewers where cameras have never been before. In addition, Discovery will leave no shark fan behind, bringing the Shark Week experience to viewers in new and innovative ways through digital and social media platforms, partnerships with nonprofit groups, affiliates, education programs, and more.

This is only one of many new programs audiences can expect, as the network has also teased that we can expect to see a special covering how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted sharks in their natural habitat.

Stay tuned for details on Shark Week’s full slate of programming before the event launches on August 9th.

Are you looking forward to this year’s Shark Week? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!