Legend vs. YouTuber: Lennox Lewis Backs Mike Tyson to Win Big Against Jake Paul
Lennox Lewis hopes to see Mike Tyson come out on top in his return to the ring against Jake Paul.
In 2005, Tyson retired from the sport following a sixth-round TKO loss against Kevin McBride. Nearly two decades later, the former undisputed heavyweight world champion will step back inside the ring for a generational showdown that has fans both excited and concerned.
Much of the concern surrounds the significant age gap between the two competitors. By the time fight night rolls around, Paul will be 27 years old while Tyson will be 58—a 31-year difference between.
Offering his take on the contentious clash, former Tyson opponent Lennox Lewis believes that how well ‘Iron’ performs will come down to whether or not his body can keep up with his much younger opposition.
“I would hope he would go into a fight where he would win,” Lewis told TMZ. “He’s a boxer, he knows how to protect himself, he knows how to throw body shots, he knows how to cut off the ring.
“He is younger than me so it really depends on his mobility, whether he can move fast around the ring when he’s going after a younger guy. We will have to see. I haven’t seen him lately to know if he can take it, but I have seen him looking muscular, so of course he can take it if he is in good shape.”
Emanating from the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Paul vs. Tyson will air live and exclusively on Netflix to the streaming giant’s 280 million subscribers around the world at no extra charge.
Lennox Lewis is open to a long-awaited rematch with Mike Tyson
Tyson and Lewis met inside the ring on June 8, 2002, at The Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. At the time, Lewis held the WBC, IBF, IBO, and lineal titles.
Ahead of their meeting, Tyson infamously told Lewis that he wanted to take his heart and eat his children.
Lewis ended up winning the fight handily, dominating Tyson before knocking him out in the eighth round with a right hand.
Asked about a potential rematch between the two, Lewis appears to be open to the idea, but he isn’t making any plans until he sees how ‘Iron’ holds up against ‘El Gallo.’
“Let’s see how he makes out in this fight first,” Lewis added. “I have spoken to Mike, just about fighting. Let’s hope his health is okay. You can’t see things on the outside that may be affecting you on the inside. I wouldn’t want to say he is okay then all of a sudden something happens.”
