“Iron” Mike Tyson vs Jake “The Problem Child” Paul

Can the old King beat the former child performer?

This Friday 15th November, the former youngest heavyweight champion in history meets Jake Paul (31yrs his junior), in the ring for a professional fight of x8 rounds, 2mins each, wearing 14oz gloves. 

Mike Tyson’s eyes may have softened a little bit, along with his abs, but he is (based on reputation) capable of some unmatchable venom. Jake Paul has had 11 professional boxing bouts, mainly uprooting has-been UFC fighters and has lost only once, to Tommy Fury - an active professional boxer. Jake is hunting a former and faded, king of the ring.

Can the young kid beat the old king?

This bout is nothing more than what we see it for, an exercise in cashing in for both parties. Each fighter stands to make $15m and win or lose, they’ll both go home winners in that sense. There is little chance of Mike Tyson being hurt, as his corner, Mike himself or the referee will step in before exhaustion allows Jake the chance to rain any punishing shots on Mike. And there is a chance that before Mike runs out of puff that he may land a shot on Jake, that will see him go-to-sleep like 45 out of the 51 people Tyson has won against before. 

As Steve Bunce said in his Independent article:

“This is the Tyson who won and lost world titles and was involved in some of the sport’s most brilliant, harrowing and disgraceful fights. Paul is just a prospect with a social media following; he is a genuine prospect, but there are limits to the hype.”

As excited as I am to see the legendary “Iron Mike” making his ring entrance and getting that visceral feeling of adrenaline in my stomach, all the past excitement Mike has given me may be best kept in the past. All the Instagram or YouTube clips we’ve seen of Mike looking unstoppable on the pads or practising his peek-a-boo bobbing in sparring, have lasted about 3-secs. There isn’t much stamina in this fight I fear. 

Paul on the other hand is a well-conditioned and expertly trained athlete, aged 27. Very few boxers have made as much money from the sport as Paul in the last two or three years. He certainly upsets the boxing purists but when he met unbeaten Tommy Fury, the pair fought hard, trading punches throughout 8-rounds.

If there is one thing that does please me about this exhibition is the eyes it brings to the sport - the inclusion of a whole new generation of enthusiasts, thus mixing ‘baby boomers’ and ‘get X-ers’.

“A lot of people, particularly boys, project themselves into male influencers like Paul… In some ways, they are their best mates – whether it’s watching them play Call of Duty, or seeing the Jackass-influenced generation of pranksters doing outrageous things on social. So they will be watching this. And so will those who grew up with Tyson in his prime. So while purists might sneer, there’s a market for this. And Netflix knows it.” - Mark Bukowski. 

Let’s hope Mike can emerge with some pride and let’s hope Jake doesn’t gloat. 

Let’s get this over with…