Eddie Hearn Condemns Mike Tyson’s Return: ‘Shot to Pieces 20 Years Ago’
British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t pull any punches while talking about the upcoming clash between Jake Paul and legendary pugilist ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
From the moment the bout was first announced, Paul vs. Tyson has received a fair amount of criticism, pretty much all of it surrounding the 31-year age gap between the two combatants. The scrutiny was only heightened when their originally scheduled date of July 20 was pushed back to November 15 after Tyson suffered a medical emergency during a cross-country flight in May.
Though Tyson insists that he’s healthy and ready to go, Hearn thinks this whole thing is a bad idea and an unnecessary risk for the former unified heavyweight world champion.
“What, what, what on earth are we doing?” Hearn asked in disbelief while speaking to the Daily Mail. “I’m lucky enough to have a business where we don’t need to do that. And I will never do that.”
Eddie Hearn has no interest in getting into the influencer boxing scene … again
While Hearn has dipped his toe into the world of influencer boxing, promoting a bout between Jake Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, and YouTube star KSI, the Matchroom Boxing chairman has no interest in making it a habit.
Especially with a plethora of big-money fights on the horizon like Canelo Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga, Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois, and Usyk vs. Fury 2.
“Anyone that thinks that [Tyson] should be in the ring right now either doesn’t have his best interests at heart or is an idiot,” he added. “Mike Tyson left the sport of boxing — which was, what, 20 years ago, I don’t know, something like that — he was shot to pieces. You honestly think that a fighter that was shot to pieces 20 years ago should now be coming back?
“I mean, I know he is only fighting Jake Paul, but it doesn’t matter. Jake Paul’s a powerful kid. He trains every day, he can punch. I get it, I get the business. I’m not criticizing them, but for me, no, thank you, not in a million years.”
Paul vs. Tyson will air live on Netflix to the streaming giant’s more than 260 million subscribers. The event itself will emanate from the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas — home of the Dallas Cowboys.
