Boxing Fans Really Want Mike Tyson to Knock out Jake Paul

Author: Jon Alba
Mike Tyson faces Jake Paul Friday.

Friday night will see a fight go down that has been more than a year in the making, as YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will square off with one of the most feared names in the history of the sport.

Mike Tyson, 58, makes his return to the ring after a near 10-year layoff from fighting, as he aims to knockout one of the loudest mouths in boxing history. The Netflix-exclusive bought is expected to be one of the most-viewed events in the history of the platform, and will go down at a packed AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

The show was originally supposed to take place in July, but Tyson suffered from an ulcer flaring up ahead of the fight, postponing it to November. The two weighed in officially Thursday, with Tyson slightly heavier at 228.4 lbs. compared to Paul’s 227.2 lb. frame. However, that’s not what people were left discussing.

Tyson’s theatrics set the stage for a fight that has already been criticized as a money grab. Tyson is 50-6 all-time, while Paul has just 11 career fights under his belt. The 27-year-old Paul made the jump to the ring professionally in 2020 after just one amateur fight, and found success against a myriad of characters from in and out of the mixed-martial arts and boxing world. He’s 10-1, with his lone loss coming against Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia last year.

Even if the legitimacy of the contest is in question, Tyson is taking it personally.

Online personality and fellow part-time boxer KSI took to social media ahead of the fight, explaining why he believed Tyson stood no chance against his friend. Some were happy to push back.

The reality is, Paul’s antics on social media and ahead of previous fights have led to him drawing ire from sports fans around the world. Many, it appears, plan to purchase the card in hopes of seeing him lose.

Other boxing traditionalists view the bout as nothing more than a cash grab though, and believe it puts a stain on a sport that has already lost credibility and popularity quickly over the last two decades.

Still, there will be a massive amount of curiosity over whether or not Old Man Tyson has one last knockout hook in him. And if you ask some people, maybe this was all supposed to happen from the start.

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