Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson: When YouTuber Declared He Would Never Fight Iron Mike

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson: When YouTuber Declared He Would Never Fight Iron Mike

Rene Otinga
updated at March 8, 2024 at 12:53 PM
  • A video has resurfaced of Paul saying he can never fight Mike Tyson
  • The two will square up in July, although details of the fight remain scanty
  • Tyson, who turns 58 this year, retired from professional boxing in 2005

An interesting video of Jake Paul saying he “can never fight Mike Tyson” has resurfaced just hours after the two’s boxing match was confirmed.

Paul, 27, will fight Tyson, 57 at AT&T Stadium in Texas in a bout that will be livestreamed on Netflix.

Jake Paul will come up against Mike Tyson in July 2024.
Jake Paul is set for an interesting bout with retired heavyweight Mike Tyson in July 2024. Photo: Nicolò Campo/Joe Scarnici.
Source: Getty Images
"My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion of the world, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time. Time to put Iron Mike to sleep,” he announced the fight on X.

Popularly known as the ‘Problem Child’, Paul appears to have grown in confidence over the last four years, if a video shared by TMZ is anything to go by.

Four years ago, Paul completely ruled out any possibility of stepping into a ring with Mike Tyson, reiterating that he was “not stupid”.

'Look, I'm confident, but I'm not stupid,' Paul, then a 22-year-old, said. “'I would not go into the ring with them. Nah, no chance.”

To be fair to the young boxer, his comments were made before he recorded sensational knockouts against some big names, including Nate Robinson, Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.

He also triumphed over Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva back when he was more of a Youtuber and “internet celebrity”.

Currently, the 27-year-old holds a 9-1 boxing record and is coming off three straight wins. His latest victory came against Ryan Bourland on March 2, where he won via a first-round knockout.

Mike Tyson is a different beast

Despite being 30 years Jake Paul’s senior, it would be a fatal mistake to overlook Iron Mike, who is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

Since his debut at age 18 in 1985, Tyson went on to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles, becoming the first heavyweight boxer to hold all three titles simultaneously.

His most recent exhibition bout came in 2020 when he came up against Roy Jones Jr, per BBC.

Anthony Joshua lists Mike Tyson among GOATS

One boxer that ranks Mike Tyson highly is Anthony Joshua.

As Sports Brief reported, Joshua was recently tasked with ranking big boxing names, past and present.

He named seven boxers in the GOAT category, including Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Derek Chisora, Evander Holyfield, Wladimir Klitschko and Joe Lewis.

Authors
Rene Otinga photo
Rene Otinga
Rene Otinga is a sports journalist with over eight years of working experience in digital media. Rene's experience includes working as a Copywriter at X News Kenya and TUKO.co.ke.
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