Money. That’s what fans claimed the Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul fight boiled down to. Yes, the veteran walked away with $20 million in November, but it also took him months to recover. And the immediate aftermath included feeling “kind of depressed” because he missed the buzz of having to prepare to face an opponent. But for Tyson’s fans, the whole episode was an emotional one; They watched their legend lose to an opponent whom they didn’t hold in high regard.
Despite it being a star-studded event with Charlize Theron, Joe Jonas, and Hasan Minhaj ringside, fans at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington left early, uninterested in seeing ‘Iron’ lose to ‘The Problem Child’. But a major chunk of the 60 million households that watched the match from the comfort of their homes were quick to call the matchup rigged. One such person to share the opinion on social media was none other than Terence Crawford. “I love Mike Tyson, but they giving him too much credit. He looked like trash, to train that long and only throw 97 punches the whole fight is crazy. I’m just glad he didn’t get hurt out there,” he wrote on X, echoing the sentiment that many other fans had.
While some found relief in the fact that Tyson didn’t experience a knockout, others were underwhelmed by his performance. But now, five months away from the fight streamed on Netflix, Terence Crawford has opened up on his thoughts on the bizarre matchup. He began, “I don’t want to spread no rumors.
“But Tyson shouldn’t have been there at all. In no way, shape, or form or fashion should Jake Paul ever be able to say he [beat Mike Tyson]. Mike Tyson is old, old enough to be my dad. He shouldn’t have been in there,” he said on ‘Club Shay Shay’ on YouTube on April 24. Combat fans will agree with Crawford. When Tyson versus Paul was initially announced, their 31-year age gap became the point of discussion. It was the biggest age gap in the history of the sport, but that wasn’t the only concern.
And at 58, Tyson wasn’t exactly in his prime to take a fight. The matchup stirred controversy from the moment it was announced, especially after it was postponed in June due to Tyson’s ulcer flare-up during a cross-country flight. He had to get treated in the hospital and even lost weight due to his health concerns. Previously, there have been instances where he was seen walking using a cane. So, fans simply didn’t want to see their hero suffer in the boxing ring.
Obviously, Terence Crawford isn’t impressed with Jake Paul’s decision to take on an aging legend. But what if he ever crossed paths with Jake Paul himself? Would he be willing to step into the ring? Well, the 37-year-old already has an answer.
How much would it take for Terence Crawford to fight Jake Paul?
Mike Tyson’s $20 million payday almost feels like an afterthought now, especially after two-weight undisputed champion Terence Crawford casually named his price to take on Jake Paul. Paul, who recently fought Tyson at heavyweight, is set to face former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. next — this time at cruiserweight.
That means if Terence Crawford ever wanted to fight ‘The Problem Child’, he’d have to jump up a few weight classes… and that’s asking a lot from the undefeated future Hall of Famer. In the same podcast, Bud Crawford’s first reaction to the idea of fighting the 11-1 record holder was pretty much what you’d expect. Size alone made it a hard no at first, but when money entered the conversation, things changed real quick.
When the NFL Hall of Famer asked if Crawford would ever step into the ring with Jake Paul, Terence Crawford said, “Nah, nah. He [is] too big… But he’s doing his thing.” Bud Crawford didn’t sound interested until Sharpe threw out a wild hypothetical: What if the purse was $200 million?
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