With each passing day, we’re inching closer and closer to the super fight – Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul. While the average fan is ecstatic to see ‘Iron’ Mike lace up the boxing gloves and return to the ring after his 2020 exhibition bout, UFC commentator Joe Rogan hopes that Tyson would go back on his word and pull out of the fight!
Sharing his thoughts with the UFC welterweight champion on his popular JRE podcast, Rogan seemed genuinely concerned for the boxing Hall of Famer. Despite supporting Tyson’s desire to fight, Rogan wished that he wasn’t doing so with a 28-year-old. He added:
“I wish he didn’t do it. I wish it wasn’t a thing. I wish it wasn’t a thing where a 58-year-old guy was going to fight a 28-year-old. That said, I fully support his desire to do it. What, is he going to live forever? No, he’s not going to live forever. Maybe he wants one more shot at it. Maybe his body can do one more fight. I don’t know.”
Additionally at 58 years of age, the former heavyweight champion is well past his prime and pretty much over the hill, and as per most analysts, Tyson will be solely relying on his power to down ‘The Problem Child.’
It’s a little bit similar to what Rocky did against Mason Dixon in Rocky Balboa, the fifth and the worst of all Rocky movies!
Plus, Tyson’s previous health scare is another factor that bothers pundits like Rogan. While the bout was earlier scheduled for July, a mid-flight ulcer flare-up forced the matchmakers to postpone the date, effectively delaying the fight.
Meanwhile, Rogan also admitted that he wouldn’t judge Tyson without seeing the former heavyweight champion on the heavy bag.
‘great on the mitts but…’ – Rogan’s concerns for Tyson
Now, while one can say age is just a number as an argument, in combat sports, age plays a significant role, especially when you’re taking on a younger stronger opponent.
With time, human bodies become slow and the ability to take a punch or recover, for that matter diminishes drastically. The older one gets, the more it gets about self preservation, and for good reason.
Tyson now is 58 and nowhere near what he used to be when he was killing the competition in his early 20s. Rogan, in his conversation with Belal also admitted that Tyson looked great hitting the pads but then claimed that anyone can look in that if you reduce it say 30 seconds.
In fact, he wanted to see the former champ sparring or working on a heavy bag for multiple rounds to make up his mind, saying,
“Let’s see three rounds hard on the bag. I want to see what you can do. I want to see how your feet move. I want to see what it looks like if you’re off balance when you’re throwing combinations.”
Now, what do you think? Is Tyson really risking it by putting his record on the line against Paul? Or will he finally put a full stop to the Youtuber turned boxer?
