Claim over 'ridiculous' Tyson-Paul fight amid Aussie's big KO ...

Nearly 40 years after making his professional debut, and 19 years after being battered into retirement, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson will climb back into the ring on Friday for a Netflix-backed bout that has drawn widespread condemnation across the boxing world.

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Tyson, who terrorised the heavyweight division during an imperious reign in the late 1980s, is lacing up the gloves once more to take on YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

The fight, which will be comprised of eight two-minute rounds, was initially due to take place in July but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.

That gory mid-air emergency has provided another piece of ammunition for the numerous critics who have condemned Friday’s contest as a macabre circus act that poses an unacceptable level of risk for Tyson, who last graced a professional ring in 2005, when he was beaten via a technical knockout after quitting on his stool against Irish journeyman Kevin McBride.

“Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and was shot to pieces, right? I mean, completely shot,” the prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.

“If anyone thinks that Mike Tyson should be in a ring at this age, you either have absolutely no emotional feelings toward the man, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be happening.”

Hearn claims ‘agreement in place’, Froch says it’s fixed

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul face each other during a press conference this week. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)Source: AFP

The age disparity has led Hearn to suggest an “agreement” is in place between the two foes.

“I don’t like it – I’m a boxing purist. Boxing is a massive part of my life and I don’t want to see a 58-year-old Mike Tyson fight,” Hearn said

“It’s dangerous and people talk about ‘there could be some agreement between them that this will happen, that will happen’.

“Now you’ve got 14-oz gloves, two-minute rounds … I don’t know. I don’t want to see Jake Paul beat Mike Tyson at 58. But many will, and I get it.”

Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments. “Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.

“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is people who have stopped to look at a crash - and that’s what this is.”

What’s confusing for fans is others in the boxing fraternity believe the fix is in to protect Paul, not Tyson.

“It’s an exhibition fight. I don’t think it should be happening because Tyson is too old. I don’t think it proves anything when Jake Paul beats him, I’ve heard and believe that there is something in the contract which means Tyson can’t even try and hurt him,” said former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch.

“I’m sure if Tyson did land a big left or right hook on the chin of Jake Paul, then he could render him unconscious,” Froch added. “That’s the only chance he would have, if he could land a big shot on his chin.

“I can’t really see that happening, though. In my view it’s all fixed in advance for Paul and Tyson won’t have the opportunity to do that.”

Fenech says Tyson can win in under a minute

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul will fight under unusual rules. Pictures: GettySource: Getty Images

Aussie great Jeff Fenech also has Tyson winning - potentially inside one minute.

“I spoke to Mike,” Fenech said. “I told him what I think he should do. Don’t punch with him, don’t punch at the same time as Jake Paul. Just make him miss and make him pay.

“It could be over in 40 seconds if he lands one punch.”

“You don’t lose that power and his greatest attribute was being able to make someone miss, then make them pay,” he added.

“He’s 58, but he looks amazing and he sounds good. He’s confident. It made me really happy. “I think he’ll win pretty easily. I think he’ll knock Jake Paul out.”

Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for the contest, has brushed off the concerns for his wellbeing, insisting when critics from the boxing world are motivated by jealousy.

“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he said earlier this year. “The people who said that wish they were up here. No-one else can do this.”

At an open workout in Texas this week, Tyson declared that a gruelling training camp had left him with the conviction “that I’m tougher than I believed I was”.

“When I agreed to this fight and started training, I thought ‘What was I thinking of?’ But I’ve finished the process. The fight is the party. All the hard work is done.”

At a final press conference in Texas on Thursday, a stony-faced Tyson pointedly declined to engage in the pre-fight hype but took umbrage with a journalist who suggested he could lose.

“I’m not going to lose, did you hear me?” he roared.

A global audience of several million watching on Netflix, and tens of thousands inside the AT&T Stadium, will be watching to see whether Tyson’s hard work pays off.

His opponent Paul — who was born six months before Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their infamous 1997 rematch — rose to prominence as a Youtuber, before turning his attention to boxing.

Jake Paul will be the younger man by more than 30 years. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)Source: AFP

Since his first fight against a fellow Youtuber in 2018, Paul’s opponents have included a basketball player, mixed martial arts fighters and other professional boxers. In 11 fights he has won 10 (seven by knockout) and lost one to Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy.

“I feel really good, sharp, powerful and explosive. It’s going to be a short night for Mike,” Paul said at Tuesday’s open workout, where he appeared wearing a bizarre headdress in the form of a rooster.

It goes without saying that a prime, 1980s-era Tyson would have dealt with Paul within a few minutes.

Does he retain enough residue of the talent and destructive power that made him the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986, at the age of 20 years and four months?

Bob Arum, the legendary 92-year-old boxing promoter who has seen it all, is unequivocal.

“The answer is no,” Arum told Secondsout.com last month. “A 58-year-old guy, no matter how good they were, no matter how athletic they were, are not gonna be able to fight.

“You can’t throw punches like you’re supposed to, you can’t do a lot of things. I hope Mike doesn’t get hurt, but I really give him relatively no chance.”

- with AFP