Former boxer Mike Tyson, 58, back in ring to face YouTuber Jake Paul
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Boxer Mike Tyson (left) and Youtuber Jake Paul face each other on Nov 13, ahead of their heavyweight bout.
PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Nov 15 for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.
Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on YouTuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The fight, comprising eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.
That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics, who have condemned this latest contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson – who last graced a professional ring in 2005 when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.
“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.
“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings towards the man, or you’re an idiot.
“It shouldn’t be happening.”
Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments.
“Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
“Anyone with an ounce of brain knows that it is ridiculous.
“You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is, is people who have stopped to look at a crash – and that’s what this is.”
Tyson, who reports say is being paid around US$20 million (S$26.9 million) for the contest, has brushed off the concerns for his well-being, insisting that critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.
Mike Tyson, who reports say is being paid around US$20 million (S$27 million) for the contest, has brushed off the concerns for his well-being.
PHOTO: AFP
At an open workout in Texas this week, he declared that a gruelling training camp had left him with the conviction “that I’m tougher than I believed I was”.
At a final press conference on Nov 13, a stony-faced Tyson pointedly declined to engage in the pre-fight hype.
“I’m just ready to fight. I’m looking forward to fighting,” he said.
A global audience of several million glued to Netflix, and tens of thousands inside the AT&T Stadium, will be watching to see whether his hard work pays off.
His opponent Paul – who was born six months before Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their infamous 1997 rematch – rose to prominence as a YouTuber, before turning his attention to boxing.
Since his first fight against a fellow YouTuber in 2018, Paul’s opponents have included a basketball player, mixed martial arts fighters and other professional boxers. In 11 fights, he has won 10 (seven by knockout) and lost one.
“I feel really good, sharp, powerful and explosive. It’s going to be a short night for Mike,” Paul said. AFP
