Nearly two decades after hanging up his gloves, 58-year-old Mike Tyson is set to return to the ring on Friday for a Netflix-supported bout. Tyson, who terrorized the heavyweight division during a powerful reign in the late 1980s, took on 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in an officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys in Texas, US. Will face. ,
Tyson, who became the youngest heavyweight champion in history in 1986 at the age of 20 years and four months, retired in 2005 after losing to Kevin McBride. At that time he had said that he had nothing left to give to the game. The boxing legend last fought against Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match with no fans during the pandemic in 2020.
Now, by fighting someone half his age, the former world heavyweight champion will become one of the oldest boxers to compete in a sanctioned professional bout. The bout, which is not an exhibition match according to experts, has been described by experts as an “indictment of boxing” and a “competitive fight”.
Tyson back in the ring
So, why is Mike Tyson putting on the gloves again after 19 years? Simple answer – money. According to reports, Mike Tyson is being paid US$20 million just for this one match. Jake Paul is reportedly getting double that – US$40 million.
A showdown is also seen as Netflix’s latest one-two punch, as the media giant hopes to capitalize on sports’ sprint to streaming. The streaming powerhouse will broadcast the event live to a global subscriber list of 280 million. Additionally, according to the BBC report, a crowd of around 70,000 is expected at the stadium to see Tyson in the ring once again.
For the streaming giant, Tyson vs. Paul is their biggest live sports event to date and an opportunity to make sure it can handle audience demand on par with the NFL and WWE.
Concern about health
The Netflix-backed bout has also been widely condemned in the boxing world. Although the rules of the game have changed, experts have weighed in on how Mike Tyson’s age could play a role in the highly anticipated fight. The bout was originally scheduled to take place in July, but was postponed in May after Tyson required medical treatment on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles after vomiting blood due to a bleeding ulcer.
Raising the issue, Stephen Hughes, senior lecturer in medicine at Anglia Riskin University in England, cited Tyson’s age and past alcohol abuse as risk factors. In an article published by “The Conversation”, Hughes said that head injuries during a fight can put a boxer at greater risk of suffering a subdural hematoma, which is potentially fatal.
Prominent British fight promoter Eddie Hearn also noted the risk to Tyson’s health during the fight, saying, “Twenty years ago, Mike Tyson retired from boxing, and he was shot to pieces, right. ?I mean, was totally shot.”
He said, “If anyone thinks Mike Tyson should be in the ring at his age, you either have no emotional feelings for that guy, or you’re an idiot. It shouldn’t be like that.”
Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments, saying, “Mike Tyson is 58 years old and shouldn’t be fighting.”
“Anybody with a bit of a brain knows that’s ridiculous. You could be stuck in a traffic jam on a motorway and you get to the end of it and all it takes is people who have stopped to watch an accident – And that’s what it is,” he added.
Mike Tyson’s answer
Mike Tyson, who US reports say is being paid around $20 million for Friday’s contest, has dismissed concerns for his well-being and insisted the boxing world’s Critics are motivated by jealousy.
“I’m beautiful, that’s all I can say,” she said earlier this year. “People who said they wish they were here. No one else can do it.”
At an open workout in Texas this week, Tyson announced that a tough training camp had left him with the belief that “I’m tougher than I thought.”
“When I agreed to this fight and started training, I thought ‘What was I thinking?’ But I have completed the process. The fight is the party.
