Friday night’s headlining sports event is the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson bout. Tyson, 58, is one of the most notorious boxing legends ever. He was the youngest man to win a heavyweight title (20 years) and reigned as the undisputed heavyweight champion for four years (1987-90).
Advertisement
Paul, 27, is 10-1 in his brief career and has victories over numerous UFC fighters, including Nate Diaz. Betting markets favor Paul in the fight. His 31-year age advantage has a huge impact on the odds. However, there are plenty of people who believe “Iron Mike” will achieve victory.
Some of those folks are Green Bay Packers. On Thursday, the Packers released a video on Twitter/X asking players who they thought would win the fight. Almost all of them chose Tyson. Rookie safety Kitan Oladapo took things a step further. He expressed that he would take Paul down if they squared off.
“I could beat Jake Paul in a fight.”
No other Packer echoed Oladapo’s sentiment in that specific regard but did agree that Tyson would come out on top. Practice squad running back Ellis Merriweather said who wins could come down to the matchup’s legitimacy.
“We doing it for real, or we just doing it for views and TikTok and Instagram? Mike Tyson all the way.”
Kamal Hadden, a Kansas City Chiefs 2024 sixth-round pick who is also on Green Bay’s practice squad, also questioned how genuine the fight is. He voiced that Tyson is the better boxer, but seemed to consider this a media ploy more than a real battle.
“I like Mike Tyson, but it’s for sure a publicity stunt.”
2023 first-round selection Lukas Van Ness had a similar thought process, saying the event “might be rigged.” The only Packers to pick Paul were defensive tackle Kenny Clark and punter Daniel Whelan.
Whelan chose Paul because that’s how it works these days. Either way, younger generation sports fans getting to see Tyson is a treat. Hopefully, Netflix’s streaming issues will subside by the time he officially steps in the ring.
