Jake Paul has enticed Mike Tyson back to some sort of professional boxing despite many in the sport strongly advising against it.
The former undisputed heavyweight champion will be 58 when he steps through the ropes with 27-year-old Paul for eight two minute rounds this November.
The bout has been criticised for the dangers it poses to Tyson, who last fought professionally in 2005 and has had health issues since, most recently an ulcer flare-up that postponed the original date.
Paul, despite the gulf in skillset, has been active since joining the sport back in 2020. He has 10 wins with seven knockouts and just one loss coming at the hands of Tommy Fury. Of those victories, the majority have been former UFC fighters rather than traditional boxers.
Plenty of fighters and analysts have dismissed the event as a sideshow rather than sport. Others have said they will not be tuning in, and that includes three-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson, who told Sekbach exactly how he felt.
“I am a Jake Paul fan. I love [what] Jake Paul doing for the sport of boxing and his fighters, what he [does] behind the scenes … I’m not a supporter of that. I think Mike’s kinda older in his career. He wants to make some money, but I don’t want to see that. I don’t like seeing that, I am a big Mike Tyson fan too, so I don’t [want to] watch that.”
Tyson and Paul are set to face off on November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. In a first for the sport, the event will be streamed live on Netflix as part of the regular subscription price, leading some to predict that it could be one of the most-viewed fight cards in history.
