Three years after the exhibition bout against former Middleweight champion Roy Jones Jr, Mike Tyson is returning to the ring, coming out of retirement at the age of 57. He is aiming to put aside ‘The Problem Child’, Jake Paul. On the flip side, the YouTuber turned boxer, too, is all locked and loaded to extend his legacy with a win over ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson. The eight-round fight is scheduled as a professional fight with rules and regulations unlike any other for the upcoming event in Texas on July 20.
Both fighters will be stepping onto the scale in the heavyweight category, a move that favors both Tyson and Paul, in a bout of eight two-minute rounds. The fighters will have no headgear as it is a professional fight and they will have to duke it out with 14-oz gloves that are heavier and padded for extra protection. It has also been confirmed that judges will announce the winner at the end of the fight.
More importantly, knockouts are, of course, allowed, irrespective of the age gap, as it is a pro contest and the outcome will affect both fighters’ professional boxing records. Despite time going against the Mike Tyson, boxing aficionados and fans are resting their hopes on Tyson to teach the youngster a lesson or two about boxing.
Though the 27-year-old hasn’t fought a seasoned boxer like Tyson, he certainly has a bunch of wins over popular fighters like Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, etc. On the other hand, this will be the first time Tyson steps into the ring again after his last professional bout in 2005. While on paper it looks like Paul will have a clean sweep, Tyson’s regime of abstinence and his spartan training have got the entire community rooting for him.
Mike Tyson becoming a spartan ahead of Jake Paul fight
In the fighting world, every Mike Tyson fight is a monumental one. Even his exhibition fight with Jones Jr. during the pandemic was well received. Now with MVP promotions and Netflix joining hands, the hype around Tyson vs Paul is otherworldly.
Tyson will enter the ring boasting a record of 50 wins and six losses, including 44 knockouts against Paul’s six KOs coming off of 10 bouts. Not to mention, Paul will be at a height advantage. The young gun is three inches taller than Tyson. However, Tyson’s peek-a-boo style is tailor-made against such opponents. And much to the dismay of Paul, Tyson is fired up to throw bombs, and hit the youngster with bone-crunching body shots.
In fact, Tyson is taking the fight seriously and certainly isn’t looking past it in any manner. In an exclusive given to Forbes, the 57-year-old has revealed that it has been six weeks since he last had sex or marijuana. Speaking about the same, Tyson said,
“I’m living my life disciplined now.”
Thus, with Tyson looking primed and battle-ready, the boxing world will surely wait with bated breaths to find out whether ‘Iron’ Mike can still pack a punch.
