One of the most highly anticipated fights in recent years is on the horizon. With less than two months to go until the July 20th bout between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, the fighters continue to build the hype.
In a recent interview for TMZ SPORTS, Paul admitted that this is the toughest challenge of his career and that he will need to manage his nerves in front of tens of thousands of live spectators, with an estimated 100 million expected to watch on Netflix. That seems like a high number for Netflix, but we will see what the actual figures say after the fight.
Paul commented on Tyson, saying, “Mike Tyson’s power, his experience, his tenacity, the veteran tricks he’s going to pull out-this is my ultimate test of warfare, and that excites me.” He also added that if he gets the chance to knock out Tyson, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second, stating, “Because if he has the opportunity to do the same, you know damn well he is going to finish me in embarrassing fashion.” Indeed, Tyson would knock him out at any chance he got. As Paul said, “He’s a killer, he’s ruthless, he’s the most vicious champion ever.”
Despite the 30-year age gap, which is significant for a professional boxing match, the show and hard punches will undoubtedly be there. It’s been 37 years since “Iron Mike” became the youngest boxer ever to win a heavyweight title. When that happened, his opponent wasn’t even in plans of being born yet. Tyson, who won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round, is certainly far from that level now.
On the other hand, Jake Paul, whose professional boxing debut was against AnEsonGib in January 2020, is in his physical and athletic prime but lacks the experience to face an opponent of Tyson’s caliber. Being nearly 30 years younger than his rival would seem advantageous in any other sport-perhaps not in golf-but in a high-performance physical sport, the explosion, reflexes, strength, and endurance are significant advantages for Paul.
We’ll see what happens at AT&T Stadium. Whether someone gets knocked out or it goes to a decision, it will undoubtedly be unprecedented and full of surprises.
