Mike Tyson has hit back at those who are not happy about his boxing match with Jake Paul. And he’s made bold claims about the level of interest his return to the ring will generate.
Tyson is going to fight again this summer. He will be in the ring with Jake Paul, the internet sensation who has turned his attention to professional boxing in recent years.
Despite a 30-year age gap, the two men will face off at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas on July 20. The match is expected to attract a sell-out 80,000 crowd and be watched by millions more as it is live-streamed on Netflix.
But the age gap and some of Tyson’s recent health struggles have meant plenty of criticism from boxing fans and former fighters. Tyson, however, has responded to the critics, telling Reuters: “I’m 58 and what? I’m getting billions of views from just talking to somebody about fighting. Everybody, even most of the athletes, they’re jealous, that’s whack.
“I say in your prime you couldn’t draw a million people, man. What are you talking, you couldn’t sell out arena. Who at 58 could sell out an 80,000-seat arena?
“Why you think he wants to fight me and not anybody else? Everybody wants to fight him, all the boxers want to fight him. But if he fought them the only people that will come are the people that like him.
“The other guys, their parents might not even come watch them. That’s just keeping it real. They’re too boring for their children to watch, it’s like watching grass grow.”
Tyson has already started getting ready for his big fight, even though it’s still more than three months away. Meanwhile, Jake Paul began his ‘training’ with a fun trip to St Barts.
If the match between Paul and Fury is set up as an exhibition, it probably won’t have judges scoring it, and the rounds might be shorter, lasting just two minutes instead of three. Tela Mange, who speaks for the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, shared that they only know the date of the event right now.
“The promoter will need to submit proposed cards before we determine whether a particular contest would be considered as an exhibition or a professional fight, or how a proposed exhibition might be structured. We can also request additional testing if we think it’s appropriate,” Mange explained to USA Today Sports.
