As a former heavyweight boxing champion with 58 career bouts and 50 wins to his name, Mike Tyson is used to getting in the ring. But ahead of his fight with Jake Paul, the veteran admits he is fearing the worst from his exhibition match.
The pair will fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on July 20 in a hotly-anticipated bout, which has also attracted criticism due to the massive age gap between Tyson and Paul.
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The YouTuber is just 27 years of age and has only 10 fights to his name. Tyson, 57, hasn’t fought in the ring since his last exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr in December 2020, which ended as a draw.
It is no surprise then that Tyson, who has suffered from mobility issues in recent years, is dreading coming against the American fighter. However, he insists this all part of the process before a fight.
“I have a weird personality – I don’t think it’s weird though. Whatever I’m afraid to do, I do it. That’s how it is,” Tyson told Sean Hannity on Tuesday night. “I was afraid of the Roy [Jones Jr.] fight [in 2020].
“I was 100 pounds overweight, I was however old, 54, 53, and I said ‘Let’s do it.’ Anything I’m afraid of, I confront it. That’s my personality. Right now, I’m scared to death.”
Tyson wary of Paul threat
Video footage from Tyson‘s training sessions have been uploaded onto social media as a way of dispelling theories that he could struggle to fight against Paul, who has a 9-1 record in boxing.
Paul‘s reaction to those clips suggested he might have been wary of the threat posed by his opponent, with Tyson looking sharp in preparing for the fight.
And he explained how he channeled his nerves into helping him feel ‘invincible’: “I always believed that adversity and nervousness pretty much catapulted me into success,” Tyson said.
“If I didn’t have these feelings, I wouldn’t go into this fight. I have to have these feelings to fight. Without them, I would never go in the ring. As the fight gets closer, the less nervous I become, because it’s reality. And in reality, I’m invincible.”
But he admits that he knows Paul‘s YouTuber days cannot be taken into account when he steps into the ring: “I saw a YouTube of him at 16 doing weird dances. That’s not the guy I’m gonna be fighting,” he added. “This guy is gonna come, he’s gonna try to hurt me, which I’m accustomed to, and he’s gonna be greatly mistaken.”
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