One of Mike Tyson’s friends shared a concerning assessment of his health ahead of his fight with Jake Paul. The boxing legend will step into the ring for the first time since November 2020 when he takes on the social media megastar at AT&T Stadium on July 20 live on Netflix.
His last professional fight came in 2005 when he lost to Kevin McBride after retiring from the bout in the seventh round. This, along with the 30-year age gap between the two, has led many to believe the fight should not go ahead and are concerned for the health of Tyson, who will be 58 come fight night.
One of his doubters is former boxer Paulie Malignaggi, who is unsure if Tyson’s recent training videos on social media are real and questions what shape the boxer is in. “I got to say, man, I’m not sure where Tyson is with his motivation,” the former WBA welterweight champion told Lord Ping.
“I don’t know how recent the videos are because I spoke to some people who were with Tyson not that long ago and he didn’t look the most active. I don’t know if the video reel is recent or just created to create headlines. I don’t know if it’s a recent video of him hitting the pads to tell you the truth because I saw some people not long ago, in the last couple of months, and he was very chilled out. He was not discussing anything physical.”
Others around the boxing world have condemned the fight, with promoter Eddie Hearn describing the July fight as ‘incredibly sad’. Furthermore, his fellow promoter Frank Warren appeared on talkSPORT and claimed that Tyson should not compete against Paul. “It shouldn’t be happening,” Warren told the radio station.
“Having said that some of the stuff that comes on in this day and age I can’t believe how it’s coming about. But it does and these guys earn a lot of money from it. If it’s properly medically supervised and they’ve got some decent officials in there and, at times, they can be protected from themselves then who am I to criticise it? But for me, it’s not something I have any interest in whatsoever.”
Despite the doubters, Tyson has begun his preparations for the fight and he has been looking dangerous in training. Over the course of several days, the combat legend showcased the speed and precision that left many opponents bewildered throughout his illustrious career.
However, Doctor Stephen Hughes raised further concerns about Tyson’s health by claiming his long-term battle with alcoholism could increase his chances of suffering brain damage should he take some stiff blows from Paul. But his coach Rafael Cordeiro, dismissed the doctor’s worries. “I believe we don’t have to be concerned about it. We’re talking about a two-time world champion,” he told The MMA Hour. “The guy didn’t have 20 fights in two years, he knows how to fight.
“He’s fought against the best guys in the world. When he steps inside the ring he knows what to do. It’s not something new for Mike, and this fight is no different. He works hard every single day to go in there and try to knock Jake out from the beginning to the end. This is his style, nobody has [to] teach Mike Tyson how to fight. He’s going to prove that in July. You can see fire in his eyes when he trains, and he will never give less than that.”
