When Jake Paul first entered the boxing scene, no one could have imagined him going toe-to-toe with Tommy Fury, defeating legends like Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva, and even setting his eyes on a future bout with Mike Tyson. However, it’s all happening, with Paul having already bested legendary fighters and has now become the talk of the town for his upcoming fight against Tyson. In a recent exclusive interview with The SportsRush, UFC referee Greg Klenjans shared his thoughts, expressing a preference for watching high-quality amateur fights over paying for celebrity matchups like Tyson vs. Paul.
Recently, Paul fighting Tyson has become a common topic of conversation in podcasts, interviews, and chats. Rightly so, as it’s wild to imagine a boxing legend at 58 returning to the ring, especially against a YouTuber turned boxer who is 30 years younger. Likewise, in a recent chat, Klenjans was asked about his thoughts on this fight, to which he stated it’s only for entertainment/money and he’s not interested in it. In his words,
“Look, that’s the entertainment side of the combat sport. And I’m not interested in it. I said before I would still referee for a good ameture contest in a suburban townhall and I love it. I want to look after these kids, I wanna help them in their journey, I just like good, evenly matched and have no interest in this big celebrity fight. But good luck to him but I won’t pay to watch it.”
It’s JAKE PAUL vs. MIKE TYSON — yes, really! — in a LIVE BOXING event at AT&T Stadium you won’t want to miss. Airing live on Netflix Saturday, July 20 #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/ULXVeCYeH6
— Netflix (@netflix) March 7, 2024
Working with the budding fighters all over the world, Klenjans wants to nurture these talents and help them mature into world-class fighters. Citing an example, Klenjans mentioned about watching Alexander Volkanovski fight as an amateur who then went on to become the UFC Featherweight king.
However, as a matter of fact, not only the UFC referee but also Indian UFC analyst Somesh Kamra, Michael Bisping, and many others, don’t think it’s a wise move for them to fight due to the potential repercussions. Anything could happen given the nature of the sport, but both Tyson and Paul have been training hard for this fight, which Klenjans said is only happening for money.
UFC Referee shared the reason why Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul is happening
Klenjans made it clear that he and his combat sports peers don’t see the logic in Mike Tyson facing off against Jake Paul. However, he explained that the fight is happening for entertainment purposes, citing the huge purse of around $20 million as a motivating factor for anyone to step into the ring with Tyson.
Indeed, anyone wouldn’t miss the opportunity if there is pay involved like this. Now it will be really interesting to see how this fight turns out and how it performs in terms of numbers, viewership, and more.
