Worrying: Could Jake Paul’s Fight with Mike Tyson Spell Disaster for Boxing? Boxing Veteran Speaks Out
Could Jake Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson bring about the end of boxing?
Paul vs. Tyson will emanate from the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday, November 15. The fight is scheduled to air live on Netflix around the world and will be available at no extra charge for the streaming giant’s 282 million paid subscribers.
From the moment their clash was first announced earlier this year, fighters, fans, and pundits alike have expressed concern over the 58-year-old Tyson stepping into the ring for a professional boxing match with the 27-year-old YouTube star. Despite that, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation saw fit to approve the contest.
Offering his take on the controversial clash, former fighter Paulie Malignaggi believes that if things go awry for the former undisputed heavyweight world champion, it could result in calls for an all-out ban on the sport.
“When you’re older, your body isn’t made for that kind of damage anymore,” Malignaggi told The Mirror. “Things could go badly wrong. If something like that happened, people would be calling for the sport to be banned. Personally, I don’t think his fight with Jake Paul should happen.
“He’ll be 58 years old by then. Fifty-eight is still 58. We live in a generation that doesn’t understand aging is a real thing. You can show highlights of Mike from the ’80s, but the guy stepping into the ring won’t be that same Mike Tyson.”
Malignaggi believes Jake Paul could do some serious damage to tyson
Jake Paul goes into the fight with a 10-1 record, a majority of his wins coming against MMA fighters past their prime and boxers who had long walked away from the sport before returning to cash in on a fight with ‘The Problem Child.’ But despite his slim experience, especially when compared to Tyson, Malignaggi notes that Paul is far from an amateur and could do some serious damage to a man 31 years his elder.
“After four years of boxing, I won the US National Championships, so Jake’s far from a beginner,” Malignaggi said. “He’s strong and young. Hitting someone Tyson’s age has serious risks. Tyson wasn’t taking punches well at 36, let alone now.”
“If you hit a guy who’s that old, it affects them. Imagine what getting hit by a strong guy like Jake would do to him. I wouldn’t want to find out.”
Mike Tyson walked away from the sport following a sixth-round TKO loss against Kevin McBride in June 2005. Since then, he has competed once in an eight-round charity boxing match against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr.
‘Iron’ is one of the most beloved figures the sport has ever produced and he continues to be a name fans recognize, whether it’s for his iconic run inside the ring, his appearances in film and television, or his popular Tyson 2.0 line of premiere hemp products.
“[If Paul] wins, there’s a huge bad taste in the world of boxing,’ he added. “It’s a disappointment to an organization that has loved Mike Tyson. It is like the death of somebody and it should be victorious for Jake Paul and I think on that small group of people that are following, yes, but, in that whole atmosphere of boxing, it’s gonna feel like somebody died.”
