20 years since last official bout, yes, Mike Tyson is fighting Jake Paul

Disgusted with boxing when he retired two decades ago, former heavyweight champion is back to 'get outside comfort zone'

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From the time the fight between former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, one of the most iconic athletes of all time, and Jake Paul, the former Disney actor and a social media influencer turned pro boxer, was made most everyone seemed to have an opinion.

Some love it and are fascinated by the expected spectacle of seeing Tyson, at age 58, returning to the ring for his first official fight — albeit with a couple of notable rules tweaks — in the 19 years and 5 months since he retired on his stool after the sixth round against journeyman Kevin McBride in June 2005 to take on Paul, a novice cruiserweight with youth on his side at 27 and a powerful right hand, who has feasted on famous MMA fighters trying their hand at boxing but has little in the way of experience against quality opposition.

Many also hate the fight, viewing it as a freak show and an impending train wreck because, as some say, what good can come of a near senior citizen, who has had recent medical issues, fighting a young man in his physical prime?

Whichever side of the aisle you are on, Tyson and Paul will indeed lace ‘em up and face each other in an eight-round heavyweight bout on Friday (Netflix, 8 p.m. ET) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where a crowd of at least 60,000 is expected with a live gate organizers believe will top $16 million, which would make it the largest gate outside of Las Vegas in United States history.

But for all of the opinions on the fight that have been espoused since it was announced in March and set for July 20, but postponed in May until Friday due to Tyson suffering a flare up of a bleeding ulcer, it is — like it or not — happening.

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While Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) has taken part in a pair of exhibition bouts since his 2005 retirement — one in 2006 against longtime sparring partner Corey Sanders and a pay-per-view blockbuster against fellow Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 — he has not fought an official bout since George W. Bush was in the first year of his second term as president.

So what is his perspective on having an official fight, although one that will utilize two-minute rounds instead of the standard three and 14-ounce gloves instead of the standard 10, for the first time since Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) was 8 years old?

“I’ve been training over a year,” Tyson told Fight Freaks Unite. “Now I’m just grateful to be healthy, grateful to be here, and looking forward to the night.”

While he will reportedly earn at least $20 million for the bout, Tyson claims the money was not his driving force for taking the fight.

“This payday wouldn’t change my life any. My life would still be the same if I didn’t receive this purse,” he said. “It’s just that I want to test myself. I want to get outside my comfort zone.”

Tyson was just 20 years old when he sensationally knocked out Trevor Berbick to win the WBC heavyweight title in 1986, becoming the youngest heavyweight champion in history. His original trainer, mentor and guardian, the late Hall of Fame trainer Cus D’Amato, predicted it but died a year before Tyson ascended to the top of the heavyweight division.

What would D’Amato have thought about Tyson coming back after so many years in retirement? And what do Tyson’s children think about it?

“He would love it because he thought that fighting was psychological more than physical and if a fighter stayed in shape and stayed active, he could still be successful at an older age,” Tyson said of D’Amato. “Some of my kids probably say, ‘You’re crazy.’ You know kids. Kids don’t look at you as other people look at you. They look at you as dad; they see your flaws. ‘Hey, you’re crazy, dad, sit your old ass down or something like that. But you know, I think it’s going to be exciting and they’ll be excited to see their father is more than an old man.”

He knows many are concerned for his health and do not think he should be participating in the fight, even though he has gone through all the enhanced medical exams required by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and been cleared to fight.

“There’s a lot of things I shouldn’t be doing more than fighting,” Tyson said. “I shouldn’t be out in clubs thinking that I’m a big shot or something, out at a big event, being worshiped by people. I think I’m too old for that crap. You know, I think I’m too old to receive awards (for being) iconic. I think I’m too old for that. But fighting? Kicking somebody’s ass? No, I don’t think I'm too old for that. No.”

The suggestion that many view the fight as a sideshow doesn’t seem to offend Tyson, whose younger self likely would have lashed out at anyone making a negative comment about one of his events.

“That’s their opinion,” he said. “There are things I could say but, you’re right, that’s their opinion and they’re entitled to it.”

Tyson’s return is a 180-degree turn from where he was on the night he lost to McBride and retired, disgusted with boxing. This writer sat with Tyson for a half hour following his post-fight press conference, along with USA Today columnist Jon Saraceno, and Tyson poured his heart out about how happy he was to have quit in the fight and how he no longer had it in him to fight anymore.

Among some of his comments that night:

• “I just don’t have the desire to fight no more. I wasn’t truly into it. If you’re a fighter your heart has to be in it more than your physical attributes. There’s nothing like the fighting heart, and I don’t have the fighting heart for that kind of work.”

• “I was just so happy to quit. I was just tired of doing this for so long. I’m just happy not to do it no more. It’s such a shallow world I am involved with and I can’t take it no more. It’s like being in the den of iniquity.”

• “I’m not into the boxing world no more. I don’t want to be remembered at all. My heart is not in the fighting game. I don’t even like it no more. I hate the smell of the gym. … I hate the boxing game. I’m not interested it in it no more.”

Tyson recalled the conversation but said that time has changed his view.

“I remember that implicitly,” he said of that post-fight discussion. “But you have to really consider back then, I’m doing cocaine, I’m doing liquor, I’m doing all kind of drugs. I’m killing myself. I’m not having a good relationship with myself. Times are different now. I have a totally different relationship with myself and God and I don’t feel like that anymore.”

He insists he has the hunger back for this fight and that, for at least one night, he can conjure up the ghosts of the “Baddest Man on the Planet” and score a big knockout.

“I believe I can do it with Jake Paul,” Tyson said in a matter of fact manner. “I’m coming to get him. I’m coming straight for him as soon as the bell rings.”

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Paul-Tyson lineup

(Friday, 8 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Netflix worldwide):

Heavyweights: Jake Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) vs. Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs), 8 rounds (two-minute rounds, 14-ounce gloves)

Junior welterweights: Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) vs. Amanda Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KOs), rematch, 10 rounds, for Taylor’s undisputed women’s title

Welterweights: Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) vs. Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs), 12 rounds, for Barrios’ WBC title

Super middleweights: Neeraj Goyat (18-4-2, 8 KOs) vs. Whindersson Nunes (0-0), 6 rounds

(Preliminary card, 5:30 p.m. ET on Most Valuable Promotions YouTube, Netflix Sports YouTube):

Super middleweights: Shadasia Green (14-1, 11 KOs) vs. Melinda Watpool (7-0, 2 KO), 10 rounds, for vacant WBO women’s title

Lightweights: Lucas Bahdi (17-0, 15 KOs) vs. Armando Casamonica (14-0, 3 KOs), 10 rounds

Featherweights: Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (13-0, 8 KOs) vs. Dana Coldwell (13-2, 8 KOs), 8 rounds

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Photos: Esther Lin/Most Valuable Promotions

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