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Nineteen years ago, the former two-time world heavyweight champion “Iron” Mike Tyson participated in his last official match, but on Friday night, November 15th, Tyson will return to the ring in a sanctioned fight against YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul.
The fight will happen at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and will air live on Netflix. The Tyson vs. Paul clash was initially set to take place on July 20th, but it had to be postponed due to Tyson suffering an ulcer flare-up while traveling.
Jake Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) started his professional boxing career in January 2020. The last time Paul competed inside the squared circle was on July 20th, when he scored a 6th-round TKO victory over Mike Perry. Now Paul is on the verge of facing a Hall of Fame boxer past his prime.
Decades ago, back in 1986, at the age of 20, Mike Tyson knocked out Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. After winning the WBC title, Tyson would go on to become undisputed and dominate the heavyweight division for the next three years.
After losing his undisputed crown to the 42 to 1 underdog Buster Douglas in 1990, Mike Tyson became champion again when he defeated Frank Bruno in March 1996. After winning the WBC title, Tyson added the WBA strap six months later when he knocked out Bruce Seldon in the 1st round.
1996 marked the last year that Tyson became a world champion. He went on to lose back-to-back bouts against Evander Holyfield. Twenty-four years after their second fight, Evander Holyfield did what Tyson would attempt to do.
In September 2021, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield returned to the boxing ring to face the 44-year-old former MMA champion, Vitor Belfort. The four-time heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield looked extremely slow, and his reflexes weren’t the same.
With 38 seconds left in the opening round, Vitor Belfort knocked Holyfield down. Holyfield could get up, but when the match continued, Belfort landed a flurry of shots that forced the referee to step in and stop the contest.
Now Holyfield’s rival Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) will attempt to compete inside the squared circle at the age of 58. Tyson hasn’t competed in a sanctioned fight in over nineteen years. Tyson lost three out of his last four fights at the tail end of his historic boxing career.
Back in 2020, Mike Tyson faced Roy Jones Jr. in a highly anticipated exhibition bout. In a slow-paced match, the two legends entertained the crowd. On November 15th, Tyson will face a younger opponent who will look to push the pace. The question is, will 58-year-old Mike Tyson end up like 58-year-old Evander Holyfield?
Over the past four years, Jake Paul has dedicated himself to the sport of boxing, and he has improved tremendously. His jab has improved, and his knockout power is legitimate.
Paul is 31 years younger than Tyson, and he will possess advantages in speed and stamina. If Paul can survive the early rounds, he has a good chance of scoring a knockout victory.
Mike Tyson has lost a lot of his physical attributes, but the one thing he still has in his arsenal is punching power. It could be a brief contest if Tyson can land a clean shot on Paul early.
However, if Jake Paul can weather the storm and make it out of the early rounds, then that could spell trouble for Tyson. If Mike Tyson, who is way past his prime, has to depend on his stamina, then that will equate to fight fans watching another 58-year-old Hall of Fame boxer suffer embarrassment inside the ring.
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