Tyson ready to return to the ring, message to Paul: “He’ll run away like a thief”

Mike Tyson he says he’s “ready” to return to the ring and sends a message to his opponent Jake Paul: “As soon as I get this guy, it’s over for him, he’ll run away like a thief.” The former heavyweight champion, now 58, will face the YouTuber on November 15. The fight was scheduled for July 20, but was postponed due to an ulcer that affected Tyson. “I had a little adversity. I got sick, but I’m better. I feel good, I’m ready,” said the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, who retired in 2005 and then returned to the ring for an exhibition with Roy Jones in 2020.

Boos for Paul

Tyson and Paul were the protagonists of a very crowded press conference at the Javits Center in Manhattan. Boos for Paul from the audience, while Tyson was greeted with warm applause. At the event scheduled all’AT&T Centerthe home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, is expected to draw 80,000 people. It will be a professional heavyweight bout, with a set of stipulations: it will be eight two-minute rounds instead of the standard three-minute rounds and it will be fought with 14-ounce gloves instead of the 10-ounce gloves normally worn in the division.

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Paul: “I want to beat a legend”

Paul, 31 years younger than Tyson, knocked out former UFC fighter Mike Perry in his last fight. “I’m here to make $40 million and knock out a legend. We signed the deal with Netflix and I deserve credit for doing that,” Paul said, also referring to the multi-million dollar deal with the platform that will broadcast the fight.

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The skirmishes

Tyson was asked what made him agree to return to the ring at his age: “Because I can. Who else can do it but me? We have a YouTuber fighting the greatest ever,” Tyson remarked, explaining that he had been training again for a little over two weeks and felt in good shape. “I love Mike and I respect him, but we’re not friends until November 15,” Paul replied, then turning to Tyson in a challenging tone: “I was ready before, you needed a little break. Does your stomach still hurt?”

But why fight Tyson? The YouTuber summed it up like this: “Big moments, big pressure, big stages, one of the greatest to ever do it, more experience than me, more fights than me, I’m going to learn a lot from this fight and this training. It’s going to help me in my future fights and everything I want to achieve,” he replied.