The Tyson vs Paul boxing match is just three months away, July 20, but speculations are flying over what the rules will be, how it will be set up, and just how vicious the former baddest man on the planet will be against a man 30 years his junior. But according to the video below, posted to Tyson’s personal Twitter account this week, Iron Mike is taking this seriously.
I’m coming for you #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/la9vrHvq3L
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) April 16, 2024
And this one from a few weeks ago.
Not bad for a dude who’s almost 60. But still, speculations continue to arise across the internet with the main question being: can there really be a true winner in such a bout? If Tyson wins, he’ll get criticised for beating up a young kid; if he loses, he’ll get criticised for getting beat up by a young kid. If Paul wins, he beat up an old man; if he loses, well, he beat up by an old man.
But the overall consensus seems to be that Tyson is still very much a formidable foe, and one can only assume he’s on the juice (testosterone replacement therapy or TRT, if not other enhancements), which, if you know anything about fighting sports, you’ll know what a monumental difference that can make in one’s physical performance.
One person who doesn’t seem too thrilled about the fight is Dana White. On a recent podcast with Lex Friedman, he said, “I don’t like it when anybody at that age gets back into the ring and fights. But it’s his life.”
George Foreman, a fellow legend of the sport, won the title at age 48, which is the oldest of any boxing champion. And in the UFC, the oldest ever champion was Randy Couture at age 46. These two, respectively, were also fighting the highest level of competition in boxing and the UFC, and although Jake is young, hungry, and hits hard, top-level competition he is not, especially against someone his own age, as we saw in the Tommy Fury fight.
In a separate video, Joe Rogan spoke about the upcoming fight, but made a distinct point, saying that “45 today is not the 45 of yesterday. Today we have testosterone, human growth hormone injections,” and a slew of other medical enhancements that simply were not available to older generations. So assuming Tyson is taking full advantage of such therapies, it’s safe to say that Mike Tyson will not be entering the ring as a 57 year old, but rather, optimistically, a 45 year old in tremendous shape. Rogan also added that Tyson is using a different approach to training by utilising “electrical muscular stimulation, which has massive benefits of rehabilitating injuries, and can provide enhanced muscular gains rather than just weight lifting.”
Although this may sound completely novel, this form of training was actually utilised by Bruce Lee back in the 1970s, when he began using an electrical muscle stimulator, which is basically a minor electric shock treatment that increases pulse, repetition, and muscle twitch fibers. However, with Bruce Lee’s abrupt death due to brain swelling, over the years, many scientists have linked this form of electric stimulation to the cause of his tragic, sudden demise, a topic which is still contested. But again, this was over fifty years ago, and I imagine the scientists working on Tyson today have a slightly more contemporary approach and understanding of how these tools function.
“Personally, I don’t see Jake surviving a Tyson body shot.”
Michael Jai-White
Actor and Kung Fu master, Michael Jai-White (the mob boss from the Joker’s pencil trick scene in The Dark Knight, who has also allegedly taught Jon Jones how to kick), said, very confidently: “I got Mike. I see Mike hitting Jake in the body and I don’t see Jake stopping that. And Jake isn’t of the size to give Mike a problem. Big guys would hold Mike, guys with long reach, and guys that outweigh him, but if they’re Mike’s weight with Mike’s center of gravity, I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to stop him. Personally, I don’t see Jake surviving a body shot.” And when finding out that Jake and Mike weight the same, 200 pounds, Jai-White responded, “Are you kidding me?! That’s worse than I thought. If Jake has no weight advantage, that’s a wrap.”
Finally, the interviewer pressed, “But Mike is 57 years old.”
“I don’t care,” responded Jai-White, while adding some furtive information that he has, in the past, found training partners for both Jake and Logan Paul to spar against, thereby knowing how they face adversity, especially against heavy hitters. “Jake’s got a punch. I’ve seen it. But Tyson is going to win.”
Famed American boxing coach, Teddy Atlas, who once trained under legendary trainer Cus Damato, the man responsible for the success of Mike Tyson, said: “Tyson’s got nothing to lose, and if he wins, people will thank him for ending this YouTuber’s charade. For the people that don’t like Paul, they’re going to thank Tyson for teaching that punk a lesson, which I still don’t think is fair, but I get it.” He added, “A lot of people felt that about Joshua knocking out Ngannou, teaching this MMA fighter that he doesn’t belong in the boxing ring.”
When asked about who will win, Atlas said: “I don’t know why Paul is taking this risk. Maybe it’s his confidence, maybe he really feels he can win, but it’s a very dangerous fight for Jake Paul.”
As Oscar-winning screen writer Aaron Sorking once said, “Writers are the opposite of athletes, we get better with age.” Surely, a tough pill to swallow for someone who was once the most decorated, feared, and imposing athlete on the planet. Still, all eyes will be glued to Netflix come July 20, 2024.
