On Friday, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and former YouTuber and Disney star Jake Paul step into the ring at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. “I think I will knock him out in the fifth or sixth round,” Paul said in an interview with CNN. “I love Mike, but I have to handle business.”
The pair were originally scheduled to fight in July this year, but it was postponed when Tyson experienced an ulcer flare up on a flight.
The main card of Friday’s event will begin at 8:30 p.m. ET, with the bout between Tyson and Paul, which takes place over eight rounds of two minutes, expected to begin around 11 p.m. ET. It will be free to watch with a Netflix subscription.
Although Paul is slightly favored to win, the combat sports community has been divided over the idea of the fight. For one, Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom CEO and one of the biggest promotors in the sport, has been heavily critical.
“He (Tyson) is 58 years old,” Hearn told Fight Hub TV, adding: “I find it very sad, but it’s a big event. I understand people are going to watch it. It’s entertainment, I guess, but for someone who idolized the guy growing up, not the best day.”
On the other hand, former heavyweight world champion and one of Hearn’s clients, Anthony Joshua, has a very different opinion about the fight.
“I personally think it’s really good,” Joshua said on the Jonathan Ross Show. “I think that the boxing hardcores, the boxing fanatics, they don’t like it because it’s like, ‘Why are they disrespecting our sport?’
“Let’s say we divided this crowd in half, and you have half of the people that are hardcore boxing fans, and half of the people that love a certain YouTuber, but that person brings all these people into boxing, which benefits everyone else that’s involved in the industry,” Joshua continued.
Criticism has also been leveled at Paul over the age gap with Tyson. At the time of the fight, Tyson will be 31 years older than Paul.
Although Tyson is the more experienced fighter, it has been decades since his reign in the ring. Paul, meanwhile, is entering his physical prime when it comes to age.
In his professional career, Tyson was known for his brutal knockouts, winning in emphatic fashion against legends such as Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes. His last professional victory was in February 2003 when he defeated Clifford Etienne with a first-round knockout. His last fight was an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020, which finished as a draw.
Tyson has released training videos ahead of the Paul fight, and despite his age, the former heavyweight champion looks in top form.
This article was originally published on diversitycomm.net.