NEW YORK – Mike Tyson is 58 years old and is currently recovering from a health problem that forced him to postpone his return to the ring.
The boxer once considered the world’s most dangerous man may be putting himself at risk by putting on gloves again. However, he was quick to respond Sunday when asked why he was still fighting his fight against Jake Paul.
“Because I can do it. Who else can do it? Who else is going to fight for it?” Tyson said, pointing to the crowd at a packed news conference where fans cheered the former heavyweight champion and booed Paul.
“We have to listen to the facts. We have a YouTuber fighting the greatest fighter ever.”
Tyson and Paul have resumed preparations for their fight, now scheduled for Nov. 15 at the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium in Arlington, Texas. They were scheduled to meet on July 20 before Tyson became nauseous and dizzy on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles in May, which his representatives attributed to a stomach ulcer.
Tyson said Sunday that he resumed training two or three weeks ago and feels good.
“Hey, listen, I’m ready,” Tyson said.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs), the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, retired in 2005 before returning for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones in 2020. Fans appear to be excited about his return, with several turned away Sunday as many attended the fighters’ press conference on the final day of Fanatics Fest in New York.
Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) competed with the crowd booing him as he competed with the fighter across the stage.
“Hey New York, you’re just like Mike Tyson,” Paul said. “You were good twenty years ago.”
In fact, Tyson’s most dominant days were much longer ago than that, and Paul knows he probably won’t get much credit for beating such a weak opponent. However, the former Disney Channel star, who insists he will become a boxing champion, said there is still value in fighting Tyson.
“Big moments, big pressure, big stages, one of the greatest ever, more experience than me, more fights than me and I’m going to learn a lot in this fight and through this training camp. So this helps me in my future fights and everything I want to achieve,” Paul said.
Paul fought after Tyson’s withdrawal, stopping bare-knuckle champion Mike Perry in the sixth round on July 20. Perry, like many of the fighters on Paul’s resume, comes from the world of mixed martial arts, not a boxing background.
He preferred to fight Tyson then and now he is eager for a second chance.
“I was ready before, I just needed some rest,” he said to Tyson. “Does your stomach still hurt?”
The bout, which will stream on Netflix, will be an official bout, albeit with eight two-minute rounds and heavier gloves than usual. The most authentic boxing match on the card may be the one before it, when lightweight champion Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano square off in a rematch of Taylor’s thrilling 2022 win in the first women’s boxing bout to headline Madison Square Garden.
Then Paul will try to show what he hopes to become in boxing, or maybe Tyson can show what he used to be. He said his health problems won’t stop him from doing that.
“I went through a little bit of a rough patch. I got sick, but I’m better now,” Tyson said. “I feel good.”
