Nearly 40 years after his professional debut and 19 years after his retirement, 58-year-old Mike Tyson returns to the ring on Friday in a Netflix-backed fight that has sparked widespread condemnation in the boxing world.

Tyson, who dominated the heavyweight division in the late 1980s, will once again don the gloves to take on YouTuber Jake Paul, 27, in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

The fight, which was scheduled to last eight two-minute rounds, was initially scheduled for July but was postponed in May when Tyson required medical treatment after vomiting blood during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles due to a bleeding ulcer.

The incident has fueled criticism of Friday’s fight, with many condemning it as a macabre spectacle that poses unnecessary risks for Tyson, who last appeared in a professional ring in 2005 and ended in a technical knockout loss after he had stopped on his stool against the Irish journeyman Kevin McBride. .

‘It shouldn’t happen’

“Mike Tyson retired from boxing 20 years ago and was already exhausted,” British promoter Eddie Hearn said this week.

“If anyone thinks Mike Tyson should be in the ring at this age, you’re not worried about him at all, or you’re being reckless. This shouldn’t happen.”

Hearn’s fellow promoter, Frank Warren, echoed the sentiment.

“Mike Tyson is 58 years old and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said. “It’s that simple.”

Warren likened the fight to a roadside accident, adding: “You’re on the highway and everyone slows down just to look at an accident – that’s what this is.”

Tyson, who reportedly earned around $20 million for the fight, has dismissed concerns about his well-being and claims critics are motivated by jealousy.

“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” he responded earlier this year. “Those who criticize wish they were in my place. No one else can do this.”

During an open training session in Texas this week, Tyson said his intense training camp had convinced him he was stronger than he had realised.

“When I agreed to this fight, I thought, ‘What was I thinking?’ But I completed the process. The fight is the party. All the hard work is done.”

At Wednesday’s press conference in Texas, a focused Tyson avoided the pre-fight hype by simply saying, “I’m just ready to fight.”
Injury fears

A global audience on Netflix and thousands at AT&T Stadium will tune in Friday to see if Tyson’s efforts pay off.

Paul, who was born six months before Tyson bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear during the 1997 rematch, first found fame on YouTube before turning to boxing.

Since his first fight against a fellow YouTuber in 2018, Paul has fought several opponents, including a basketball player, MMA fighters and other professional boxers. In eleven matches he has won ten (seven by knockout) and lost one.

“I feel very good, sharp, powerful and explosive. It will be a short evening for Mike,” Paul said during the open training on Tuesday, where he wore a rooster-shaped headdress.

Obviously, 1980s Tyson would probably have gotten rid of Paul in a matter of minutes. But does Tyson still have any trace of the power and skill that made him the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986, at the age of 20?

Veteran promoter Bob Arum, 92, is blunt.

“The answer is no,” Arum told SecondsOut.com last month.

“A 58-year-old man, no matter how good or athletic he was, can no longer compete at that level.”

“I hope Mike doesn’t get hurt, but I hardly give him a chance.”

AFP