Jake Paul had to go all eight rounds to beat Mike Tyson in front of a packed house at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas on Friday night.
Over 75,000 fans packed into ‘Jerry World’ to witness the historic heavyweight showdown, with tens of millions expected to have tuned in on Netflix. The stars were out in force, including Jake’s brother Logan Paul and a host of other social media and sport stars.
The controversial bout saw social media star-turned-fighter Paul take on the beloved boxing icon Tyson at the age of 58. Despite many fearing for the Brooklyn native’s safety, there was also belief that career-cruiserweight Paul may not be able to take a major heavyweight shot.
On a night devoid of knockouts, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson failed to deliver the stoppage in their highly-anticipated clash. Their initial July date was rescheduled when the former heavyweight champion suffered an ulcer flare-up that left him fearing for his life.
But he looked in phenomenal shape as he made the walk for the first time as a professional since 2005, when he was stopped by Kevin McBride. Paul made him wait with a lengthy ring walk before boxing icon ‘Iron Mike’ entered second in his traditional minimalist black garb.
However, he quickly tired as Paul trudged to a decision victory, almost at times looking as though he didn’t want to unload on Tyson. Ultimately, the scorecards read 78-72 on one and 79-71 on two as the YouTuber picked up the biggest, if not the most impressive, win of his career.
The crowd erupted upon the sight of Tyson, who stepped into the ring as a major underdog. And he and Paul gave them what they wanted, with the elder fighter attacking early and aggressively from the opening bell.
Paul managed to evade and land some shots of his own, but appeared nervous about taking the big punches. It seemed that Tyson actually took the first, particularly given the short two-minute duration that favored him early.
Within minutes, however, Tyson’s slowing down became noticable and by round five it was a tough watch as Paul unloaded. The final few rounds were pitter patter, with the pair even bowing in respect to close out the eighth round.
Jake Paul was expected to walk away from the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Friday with a victory over 58-year old Mike Tyson.
While the vast majority of fans were hoping that “Iron” Mike would turn back to clock for just one night, one round, even just one minute or less for a knockout blow, father time is undefeated for a reason. Paul, 30 years younger than his latest opponent, was expected to have the edge in speed, stamina, chin, just about everything outside of, perhaps, power.
Tyson had not competed since an exhibition contest against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. Though no winner was declared, most had Tyson getting his hand raised – but Jones, like Mike Tyson, was already in his 50s.
After an extended intro, walkouts and introductions, it was just past midnight on the East Coast when Mike Tyson entered his first sanctioned fight in decades. “Iron” Mike landed an overhand right early, and backed Paul into the ropes, forcing the younger man to clinch up. That appeared to be part of Paul’s game plan early on – clinch up, and let the ref sort things out. Paul did have his right hand in his back pocket, and uncorked that more than once, as well as his jab. Tyson might have laid claim to the first round.
Round two (with two minute rounds in effect, the first had flown by) saw Tyson come forward, doubling up on his left. Paul went to the body with his right. The speed difference was clear as day even just three minutes into the fight; Tyson at times looked like he was in slow motion compared to Paul. That didn’t stop the crowd from starting a “Tyson” chant. Little action in the second frame, which Paul likely took.
Mike Tyson landed a left to open round three, starting the round hot. Paul answered back with a hook, hurting Tyson. Another left hook landed for Paul. And another. Jake Paul landed one more left hand at the end of the round, but held up, opting not to turn up the heat on Tyson. Overall, a horrible round for Mike Tyson.
Jake Paul danced around Tyson in round four, far lighter on his feet. Paul went to the body, and found more success with his left hook. Tyson tried a little lateral movement, but overall, round four had a distinct lack of action from both men.
Round five saw Tyson land a left hand in the back half of the round. Mike displayed better movement through the first minute, but didn’t land anything of note other than the left. Paul connected with a right late, and Tyson fired a left at the bell.
Following the fifth, and more than halfway into the eight-round fight, Tyson’s corner advised him that they couldn’t wait any longer to get going. At best, Tyson had won the first, but Paul more than likely had taken the next four frames. Round six saw Paul jab to the body and head, with Tyson struggling to find a way inside. Again, not a ton of action, and if anything, it seemed as if Paul might be showing some restraint.
Tyson opened round seven with a connection. Not anything fight-changing, but at least a sign of life. The rest of the round was Jake Paul using his range and length well, connecting repeatedly as Tyson struggled to come forward. The former heavyweight champ took a massive breath back on his stool ahead of the final round.
With two minutes to somehow pull out a win, the deck was stacked against Mike Tyson. Paul’s left hook continued to be a threat. Tyson continued to struggle to find an entry. Paul jabbed, keeping Tyson at bay. A right hand clipped Mike. Nothing serious. After the 10 second clapper, Paul actually bowed to the heavyweight legend, but there was no question as to the winner: Jake Paul’s pocketbook, and father time. A fight that didn’t need to happen played out as expected, with the silver lining being that Tyson suffered no permanent damage.
Official Result: Jake Paul def. Mike Tyson by unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73)
As ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson and Jake Paul get set to touch gloves in front of a packed AT&T Stadium, as well as in front of millions on Netflix, it should be noted that Friday’s contest could yet be cancelled.
The fight was originally supposed to take place in July, before Tyson was forced to withdraw from that date due to health complications. However, with his stomach ulcer issues now behind him, the 58-year-old looks ready to finally settle the score with social media sensation Paul.
Controversy has plagued the bout ever since it was announced, mainly because of the 31-year gap between the two participants. Paul, who is 27, has padded his professional record with a number of victories over combat sports legends who have all been well past their best.
Mike Tyson & Jake Paul’s pro records (as of 14/11/24)
Mike Tyson
Jake Paul
Fights
58
11
Wins
50
10
Losses
6
1
No Contests
2
0
The likes of Ben Askren, Tyrone Woodley, Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva have all left their usual stomping ground of MMA to take on ‘The Problem Child’ in the boxing ring, whereas Tyson is considered one of the greatest heavyweights ever to lace up a pair of gloves. ‘Iron’ Mike still looks the part, sporting a ripped physique ahead of the fight. However, there’s no getting away from the fact that he is just a few years shy of his 60th birthday.
With that in mind, the commission responsible for overseeing the fight wants to undertake a series of last-minute checks – and the fight won’t be rubber-stamped until they’ve been completed.
Why Tyson Vs Paul Isn’t Official Yet
‘Iron’ Mike must pass two specific tests in the hours before the fight
The eight-round fight is being staged under the supervision of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) and their rules state:
A person aged 36 or older applying for a contestant’s license must submit a report of favourable physical testing, including but not limited to an EEG (electroencephalography) and an EKG (electrocardiogram).”
Some 22 years older than the stated cut-off point, Tyson will need to pass both of the above tests before the fight or it will not be able to go ahead as a professional contest. In the event that the heavyweight legend doesn’t pass either test, the commission would have the option of downgrading it from a professional fight to an exhibition – or scrapping it altogether.
Neither of those options will be appealing to promoters, with tens of thousands of tickets sold and an audience of millions set to tune in on Netflix. Tyson vs Paul has already had one of the most controversial build-ups in boxing history. Those who are eagerly anticipating the fight will be hoping that there are no last-minute issues that prevent it from taking place.
Mike Tyson made sure to “nip it in the bud” when a prisoner tried targeting him during his first stint behind bars.
The boxing legend was imprisoned in 1992 after being convicted of rape in Indiana. He was given a six-year sentence as well as four years of probation for the crime.
Tyson, then in his late 20s, would ultimately spend just under half of that time in jail, being released on parole for good behaviour. But that doesn’t mean he was an angel throughout his stay at the Indiana Youth Center.
Naturally, there was a target on his back, having been the youngest heavyweight boxing champion of all time. So he made sure to swiftly establish he wasn’t to be messed with.
During an interview with Playboy in November 1998, Tyson was asked if he was ever attacked in prison. He replied: “People will try you. They’ll try the strongest. You have to be a man. They’ll try anybody.
“They start by saying something funny, something sarcastic, to see how far they can go. But you nip it in the bud. You don’t let anyone get away with saying anything funny or sarcastic.
“You have to demonstrate who you are right on the spot. That’s what I do. That’s who I am. I’m a settler. I’m in my glory in a place like that. Chaos all over. Yeah, they tried me a few times.”
The interviewer then questioned if anyone had pulled a knife on him to gain an advantage, with Tyson hinting that he too carried a weapon. “They had them, but they didn’t have anything I didn’t have,” he answered.
Iron Mike had countless run-ins with the law before, during and after his professional career but has since turned his life around. And he’s now set to add a 59th fight to his record of 50 wins, six losses and two no-contests.
He steps into the ring with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul this Friday (November 15) in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a contest which will be broadcast live on Netflix. Tyson will be looking to defy the 30-year age to Paul, whose jeopardy is facing one of the hardest-hitting fighters in history.
Netflix’s second installment of Countdown: Paul vs Tyson, which prefaces the pair’s much-anticipated boxing match on November 15, peers into both boxer’s camps as they prepare to fight.
The contest has caught the public’s imagination, pitching Tyson against Paul, a 58-year-old legend of the sport, versus a 27-year-old YouTuberwho has crossed over into the boxing arena after conquering social media. Boxing Hall-of-Famer and subsequent actor Tyson is an ex-heavyweight champion of the world, with a legitimate claim to have been the sport’s most visible and controversial figure of the last 30 years.
Many boxing experts also consider him to have been one of the sport’s best. Tyson had a 20-year professional career between 1985 and 2005, notching 19 knockout wins in his first 19 professional fights, before becoming the sport’s youngest-ever world heavyweight champion at 21 when he defeated Trevor Berbick in Las Vegas in 1986. Tyson defended the title nine times, appearing unbeatable, before losing to James “Buster” Douglas in Tokyo in February 1990 in what many consider to be boxing’s greatest-ever upset. However, 34 years on, the Tyson/Paul bout promises a new and surprising chapter in his career.
Tyson’s loss to Douglas signaled a spectacular fall from grace, both in and out of the ring. Before the Douglas fight, the multimillionaire’s private life had spun out of control; his tempestuous marriage to actress Robin Givens was rarely out of the headlines, and he’d split from long-time trainer and confidante Kevin Rooney, his only connection to the man who’d adopted him as a teenager and guided his professional career, Cus D’Amato. D’Amato death in 1985 hit Tyson hard, and he was ill-equipped for the fame, fortune, and public scrutiny that inevitably surrounds a world heavyweight champion.
There followed a highly-publicized rape conviction in 1992, which saw Tyson sentenced to six years imprisonment, gaining parole after three years incarcerated at the Indiana Youth Center. Despite regaining his world title, in 1997 a much-diminished Tyson surrendered his legacy and reputation in two losses to Evander Holyfield, the second by disqualification for biting his opponent’s ear in 1997. Tyson continued fighting for money, his drawing power intact, but by 2005, after an embarrassing loss to journeyman Kevin McBride, he quit the sport.
The McBride fight appeared to have put Mike Tyson’s fighting ambitions to bed: “I felt like I was 120 years old. I don’t think I have it anymore,” he told The New York Times after the fight. He retired to an upscale enclave, Paradise Valley, near Phoenix, Arizona to spend time with his 350 prize pigeons, a lifelong obsession. There remained several brushes with the law, a much-publicized declaration of bankruptcy in 2003 with debts of more than $20 million, and many visits to rehabilitation centers to try to conquer issues with depression, drugs, and alcohol addiction.
In 2013, he published his autobiography, Undisputed Truth, in which he gave an honest and unexpurgated account of his life and troubles. The book ushered in a new relationship between Tyson and his audience and led to an international Undisputed Truth Tour, in which a visibly overweight Tyson surprised and excelled on stage as he recounted his life experiences and missteps. Approaching 50, out of shape, and with some stability in his private life, a return to the ring appeared highly unlikely.
While there are undoubtedly many factors behind Tyson’s decision to fight Paul, the former champion has been fairly candid when it comes to his motivation. He has dismissed claims that it is a purely financial move. While commentating at a Cage Wars MMA event (via The Daily Mirror), Tyson described such accusations as “Bull****,” adding:
“I’m a man; I want to go out there and I want to expose myself to risk. Sometimes I want to see who I really am. I want to see what I’m really made out of. I want to perform in front of the world. To me, that’s all I ever knew how to do since I was 14. This fight is not going to change my life financially enough. This is just what I want to do.”
This suggests that there is something more to Tyson’s decision than the financial implications.
In 2020, a newly energized Tyson, slimmed down and with his demons apparently under control, announced an exhibition fight with fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jnr, then 51, and himself a former multi-weight world champion. Tyson’s share of the purse was rumored to exceed $10 million and, while some pundits had conjectured that the two old pugilists might not be able to curb their natural instincts, they in fact tip-toed through eight somewhat insipid rounds of action, after which three judges awarded a draw. Tyson announced afterward that he’d like to fight more exhibition bouts.
…the old champion is seen training hard and appears to have recovered a little of his trademark menace.
In Countdown: Paul vs Tyson, the old champion is seen training hard and appears to have recovered a little of his trademark menace. He’s shown bashing up his padded-up coaches and heavy bags, looking fit and fabulous against a static opponent that doesn’t hit back. The docuseries, of course, plays down the recurring sciatica that had him wheelchair-bound, causing a postponement of the fight last June, or the ulcers he suffers from, or the general physical dissipation that accompanies mid/old age. This Paul-Tyson fight is not an exhibition, and real punches will be thrown.
Mike Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight world champion, has disclosed that his affluent acquaintances have proposed financial incentives for him to withdraw from his forthcoming clash with Jake Paul.
The 58 year old is set to make an extraordinary comeback to the ring on November 15 against the YouTuber-turned-boxer.
The eagerly anticipated fight is scheduled to take place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, potentially drawing a crowd of up to 80,000 spectators. ‘Iron Mike’ was initially slated to face ‘The Problem Child’ earlier this year but had to pull out due to an ulcer flare-up during a flight.
Despite the setback, the bout was rescheduled, and Tyson insists he will be ready to fight next Friday. Nonetheless, concerns linger over Tyson’s wellbeing, given the 31-year age gap between him and Paul.
Prominent boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is expected to be present at the AT&T Stadium to back Katie Taylor in her highly anticipated rematch with Amanda Serrano. However, Hearn has stated he will not stay for the headline event.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “We received a massive offer for Katie. I’m not going to tell her she’s not allowed to fight on that card,” adding, “Financially it’s the biggest purse of her career. I won’t be watching the main event. We’ll be there defending the belts, and then I’ll be off”, reports the Mirror.
Hearn is not the only detractor of the heavyweight clash. Exclusive behind-the-scenes content from Tyson’s training camp was released on Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) YouTube channel, offering glimpses into his preparation for the upcoming fight.
In a candid moment captured during a break in training, ‘Iron Mike’ shared with his coaching staff that several affluent friends had desperately implored him to avoid entering the ring with the younger American opponent. He recounted their words and his reaction: “I have some friends, they’re pretty wealthy”, he shared.
“They said, ‘Don’t fight, I give you money’. [I’m like] ‘You f****** crazy? ‘”. His return to the ring came after a harrowing health scare that led to the postponement of the original fight date.
In a confession made during a Netflix documentary, Tyson revealed a distressing incident prior to the fight where he collapsed, vomiting blood. “A week and a half ago I was training and I was doing great but then all of a sudden I started feeling tired,” he disclosed.
“I was explaining to my trainer, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me’.”
He continued, recounting his ordeal whilst travelling: “Coming here from Miami on the plane, I went to the bathroom and I threw up blood. The next thing I know I’m on the floor, I was defacating tar. So I came here and they found I had a big ulcer, two-and-a-half inches, and it was bleeding. All my friends were calling me like I was dying.”
Tyson expressed his desire to fight, saying: “I asked the doctor if I was going to die and she didn’t say no. She said we have options though, and that’s when I got nervous. I can’t wait to get out of this motherf***er, man. God, I want to fight and start training. I don’t want to die in the hospital bedroom, I want to die in the ring. You wouldn’t believe what I endured from my ulcer. I lost 26 pounds, can you imagine that? I was so p***ed off because I had peaked. I was good, talking s***, ready”. Tyson last fought professionally in 2005, retiring on the stool against Kevin McBride, but did participate in an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr four years ago.
Meanwhile, Paul, 27, is coming off a notable victory against Mike Perry in July.
Former undisputed heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson has claimed money is not a motivating factor in his upcoming clash with Jake Paul.
The 58-year-old is scheduled to make his sensational return to the ring against the young American on November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas in front of up to 80,000 fans. The two boxing stars were due to go toe-to-toe back in July, but ‘Iron Mike’ was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering an ulcer flare up on a flight. Despite concerns for his health, Tyson insists he’s ready to make the walk to the squared-circle next week.
Tyson hasn’t fought a professional contest since suffering a defeat to Kevin McBride back in 2005 while his last win in the ring came in 2003 when he brutally knocked out Clifford Etienne in the first round. He did, however, take on Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout in 2020, which was predictably scored a draw after eight rounds.
As for ‘The Problem Child’, the young American has taken the sport by storm since making his professional debut back in 2020. Paul comes into the clash off the back of a devastating knockout win over former UFC star Mike Perry back in July. With a professional record of 10-1, his only defeat in the sport came against Tommy Fury last year.
The 58-year-old is adamant that his return to the ring is not for financial reasons however. Tyson’s earnings now come more readily from cannabis than fighting and ‘Iron Mike’ is more interested in the risk available to him by taking on Paul in his return to the ring. “I could be waiting on a check every day from cannabis,” he said in September while commentating at a Cage Wars MMA event.
“That’s bulls*** for me. I’m a man; I want to go out there and I want to expose myself to risk. Sometimes I want to see who I really am. I want to see what I’m really made out of. I want to perform in front of the world. To me, that’s all I ever knew how to do since I was 14. This fight is not going to change my life financially enough. This is just what I want to do.”
Tyson has recently admitted that he is still not in perfect health. “It’s hard to walk right now,” he said. “But two months from now I’m going to be perfect. The fight is won in the gym. Listen, I’ll do anything that will help me. I’m going to enjoy my time here tonight with all my childhood friends, and the hell with Jake Paul”.
Since the confirmation of the bout, Paul has faced a lot of criticism. The 27-year-old has dismissed the idea the money is the primary reason for their meeting. “Making history. This is what it’s all about for me, man”, he explained. “I’m a kid from Ohio. […] They’ll never give me credit. That’s the way it is. If I was walking on water, they would say it’s because I couldn’t swim. And this is to make history. The people think I’m going to get knocked out by this strong, powerful guy”.
Almost two decades on from their infamous showdown in Washington DC, Kevin McBride is still very much feeling the power of Mike Tyson.
In June of 2005, the little-known Irishman shocked the world and send ‘Iron Mike’ into retirement, not just from the fight but from boxing as a whole. It would take the heavyweight icon until this year, at the age of 58, to come back for a full professional bout, only taking two exhibitions in the meantime.
But even though McBride won on the night, he says that the punches he felt that night have stuck with him. Now working as a paver, he has warned Jake Paul that there are still times that he feels the power of Tyson, almost 20 years since they stepped in the ring.
The date was June 11 2005 when Kevin McBride earned the biggest win of his life against one of the greatest of all time; Mike Tyson. While the story has been rewritten to indicate that ‘Iron Mike’ was far past his best, he still packed a serious punch, which had the Monaghan native in trouble throughout.
“It was like a Cinderella story for me,” he told Bloody Elbow in an exclusive chat. “Everybody said there was no way I had a chance to beat Mike Tyson because with his career and what he’s achieved, but I had a different plan in my mind.
“I trained very hard for eight weeks and I even had a hypnotist work with me so that every time he would hit me I’d be smiling. I was smiling a lot! People don’t realize even when I was fighting him people ask ‘what was going through your head?’ I say ‘What the hell did I get myself into?’
“He ain’t no joke and I would have fought him for free. I was offered small money, maybe $150,000, but I couldn’t care less about that, I just wanted to get in the ring with him, it wasn’t about money at all for me when it came to Mike Tyson.”
And not only did McBride get in the ring with Tyson, but he managed to make him quit on his stool after round six. He floored the legend with Muhammad Ali watching at ringside, and made one of the world’s toughest men decide that he could no longer fight.
However, he has a word of warning for Jake Paul as he prepares to face Tyson on Friday night. The bout has proved controversial over the 31-year age gap between the competitors, but the legendary heavyweight still packs one of the biggest punches on the planet.
“Jake Paul is a young kid,” he said, noting the 27-year-old’s inexperience relative to his 58-year-old opponent. “He has youth with him but Mike Tyson’s power is unbelievable. I still feel it to this day, more than 19 years later.
“He hits so hard and power is the last thing to go. George Foreman proved that against Michael Moorer. Sure he was a bit younger than Mike is now but power-wise it is one of the biggest punches in history and he can probably knock Jake out.”
If Mike Tyson pulls out, McBride will be happy to step in and have a shot at Jake Paul
The bout between Paul and Tyson is one of the most anticipated of the year, helped by a build-up that has lasted since it was announced in March. The pair were due to compete on July 20, but the YouTuber was forced to face Mike Perry instead after Tyson suffered a health scare that had him fearing for his life.
And should a similar issue arise during fight week, McBride would happily dust off his gloves and get in there with Paul. He last competed in 2011, and ended his career on a three-fight losing run, but reckons he has enough to stop the social media star.
“I’m 51-years-old myself and if Tyson pulled out again I would fly down in the morning,” he admitted. “I would actually jump in the ring with Jake Paul and I’ll tell you what, I have the power to put him away too because my power has not gone away.
“I work with this guy now Mathias and I do paving, I must have lost 50lb this summer and I’d be able to make weight again. If Tyson beats Jake Paul then it’s not a bad idea if he wants to avenge his loss against the Irishman and we could get in the ring again.”
Mike Tyson says he almost died when he suffered an inflamed ulcer that forced him to pull out of his initial July 20 date for the Jake Paul fight.
Tyson will box Paul on November 15 in his first professional fight since his loss to Kevin McBride in 2005. But there were worries that it would not happen after Tyson’s ulcer flared up during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. Tyson reportedly passed out, as the onlooking passengers were in horror. He was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer that can lead to death. He recalled coughing up blood in the bathroom, as well as losing a significant amount of weight. Further struggles included not being able to eat as there were concerns that Tyson would never make the fight. At one point, Tyson admitted that he felt he could have died.
“I asked the doctor, ‘Am I going to die? He said, ‘We have options.’ Options? I couldn’t believe it. I lost 25 pounds in eleven days. I couldn’t eat. Only liquids. Every time I went to the bathroom, it smelled like tar. Didn’t even smell like it. It was disgusting. I had, like, eight blood transfusions. The doctor said I lost half my blood. I almost died. It threw me off. All my coordination, stamina, and everything else were hectic getting back. I was peaked already. I could have fought him that day. Now I got to start from scratch,” Tyson said
But Tyson is not the only one who could suffer in this fight. Paul will bulk up to over 200 pounds for this fight. He is used to fighting boxers moving up in weight, which gives him a significant advantage. He did this against Nate Diaz, beating him via a unanimous decision. Diaz is used to fighting at 170 pounds, but Paul boxes at cruiserweight. Paul also had the advantage over Mike Perry, whom he stopped in the sixth.
With that being said, there are concerns that the extra weight will slow him down and make him vulnerable. Paul has shown issues with stamina during some of his fights. The fight with Diaz showed that, as he allowed Nate to come back into the bout after initially sending him to the canvas. Paul’s strength and conditioning coach, Larry Wade, revealed the struggles The Problem Child had to go through. So questions remain if this will have an impact on the fight.
“Tyson and Perry are two different styles of fighters, two different styles of training. One where Mike Tyson fights two-minute rounds, and Mike Perry fights three-minute rounds, which is a different kind of conditioning. He had to go back, focus and do some things besides the fact that we had to lose a lot of weight to get there. It definitely required a team effort. I needed a break, so we took a month off, went back to work, and now we’re getting ready for Mike,” Wade added
There’s little more than two weeks until Mike Tyson takes on Jake Paul in Dallas on November 16.
So, you know what that means.
We’re about to get a huge influx of fake bravado and false statements to give both men the best chance to maximise their earnings.
If you were at the pub and saw a 20-something year old male punching on with a man approaching 60, who has resorted to using a walking cane in recent years, you’d be inclined to step in and stop what could very well be a serious assault.
The same risks exist when Tyson and Paul enter the ring for eight two-minute rounds with 14oz gloves in the middle of November, yet it seems nobody in any official capacity is willing to stop an event which could traumatise the world if it goes wrong.
The defining difference that distinguishes this scenario is that most people believe that Mike Tyson isn’t your average man reaching pensioner age.
Tyson recently shared a clip where he dropped a sparring partner and has also released short clips of training footage of him throwing monster combinations, leading some to theorise the 58-year-old’s endurance might be a problem.
While Tyson is the youngest man to ever hold the heavyweight championship at the age of 20, an older man with ulcer problems, who hasn’t fought a professional fight since 2005, will enter the ring in Dallas, Texas.
Yet that didn’t stop Paul from telling Nine’s Today, that a win against his almost elderly opponent will rocket him into boxing immortality.
“People think I’m this nice smiley social media content creator. I like to have fun but I’m a killer,” Paul said.
“This is what I was bred to do, this is my destiny.
“I will stop him and become the face of boxing. Whether people hate that or love it they’re going to have to accept it.
“I was born to do this and I will be world champion and I will go down in the boxing hall of fame as one of the greatest to ever do this.”
We warned you about false statements and fake bravado. Well, here’s another dose.
During the soon-to-be-released Countdown series for the fight, the former champion said: “If I win, I’ll be immortal… I don’t want to die in a hospital bed; I want to die in the ring.”
For some reason, Tyson sounds more believable than Paul, and that could be the most concerning part.
While there has been frequent talk of the age difference between the fighters, discourse about the potential dreadful consequences that could arise if a 27-year-old man mercilessly beats a 58-year-old has not been so common.
Can you imagine if boxing’s worst nightmare unfolds in front of a potential audience of 700 million viewers worldwide on Netflix?
That question wasn’t put to Paul, but we thought we’d throw in some more bravado to distract you from the daunting possibilities that could occur on November 16.
“Tyson is dropping people in sparring, he looks the best shape he’s been in, that’s what his coaches are saying,” Paul told Nine.
“I plan on outboxing him and showing the world what I’m capable of. It’s going to be a war.
“He’s one of the most famous boxers in the world to ever do it, he and Muhammad Ali, so to step in there with someone of his nature is an honour and a dream come true and it’s going to be a spectacle and one of the most entertaining nights the sport has ever seen.
“I was born to do this and I will be world champion.”
He added: “All of Australia tune in, I’m going to Kangaroo kick Mike Tyson in the face.”
Boxing has an uncanny knack of turning false statements into harsh truths.
