We are mere days away from one of the most anticipated boxing events of 2024. Following a postponement and a bevy of uncertainty, Jake Paul will finally step into the ring to face Mike Tyson in an officially sanctioned bout. No one is really sure what to expect given the age difference and Tyson having been out of action for so long.
Tyson’s last professional fight came in 2005, when he lost to Kevin McBride right before turning 39 years old. But many might not remember that he got back on the saddle for an exhibition match in November of 2020. Tyson’s opponent? Former multiple weight world champion Roy Jones Jr. That fight was eight rounds just like Tyson-Paul will be, and it ended in a draw.
Tyson was 54 years old at that time, while Jones was 51. Both fighters held their own. With Tyson older and against a much-younger Paul, one would think that previous fight doesn’t serve as a warning sign for the younger boxer. But Jones doesn’t agree. He recently spoke to BoxingScene and called Tyson the “hardest puncher I ever faced“.
Roy Jones Jr. warns Jake Paul about Mike Tyson’s punching power
They can’t count Mike out, you feel me?… Mike is still Mike. Ain’t nothing changed. [His punches were harder] than anybody I’ve ever been in the ring with. He was the hardest puncher I ever faced. The first time Mike hit me in the chest, it felt like a mule kicked me… For Jake, I don’t know. I don’t see it. If Mike hits him, it’s going to be ‘good night, Irene’.
Jones did concede that Paul has improved a lot as a boxer over the years. He didn’t go so far as to say Paul would be in trouble, but he will be “if he goes in there for a slugfest“. Jones’ advice to Paul: “If he takes his time and uses what he’s been learning and box, he’ll be fine“.
A former world champion saying that about Tyson should definitely make Paul more cautious on Friday night. Paul should rely more on his movements and spryness, having the advantage from being younger and more athletic.
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