Boxing legend Mike Tyson, 58 years old, wants to return to professional competition and fight with contemporary stars like Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk.
Tyson will take on 27-year-old YouTuber Jake Paul in what is considered the most controversial fight in boxing history at the AT&T Arena in Texas on November 15. Their three-decade age gap is the largest in professional boxing history.
There are concerns about his health and ability to fight, but Tyson is confident that the Paul fight could be a stepping stone to his return to professional boxing. “It’s exciting. Nothing will be ruled out after I knock Paul out,” the 58-year-old told the British press. Sportmail . “I’m just focused on each opponent, each fight. But if the next fight goes as well as expected, I can return to professional boxing.”
When asked if he was serious about fighting Fury, Usyk or Daniel Dubois, the 58-year-old legend stressed: “Like I said, anything can happen.”
Tyson is a heavyweight boxing legend, still holding the record as the youngest heavyweight boxer in history to own a world championship belt with the WBC belt in late 1986, at the age of 20. During his professional career, he lost six and won 50 fights, including 44 knock-out victories.
Paul, on the other hand, is an amateur boxer who switched from YouTube to boxing in 2020. He has fought 11 professional fights, winning ten and losing one – to Tommy Fury, the younger brother of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, in February 2023.
Tyson believes that Paul is not as confident as he appears to the media or on social media, and asserts that he will easily defeat his 31-year-old opponent. “Paul will definitely think I am a monster,” the American boxer expressed. “Looks can be misleading, but I am not nervous, I am very confident. I feel young, strong again and ready to enter the ring.”
The fight has been approved by Texas authorities as a professional bout, and will consist of eight two-minute rounds instead of the 10 or 12 three-minute rounds of top-level boxing. The fighters will not wear head protection, but will use heavier gloves (14 ounces instead of 10), which are said to reduce the power of the punches.
Tyson believes the two-minute rounds will make the fight more intense and punch-heavy. “There’s no time to test each other out,” he said, adding that the fight will be a spectacle for fans.
Among the contemporary heavyweight stars Tyson mentioned above, Dubois just made a splash when he knocked down Anthony Joshua four times before winning by knockout in the fifth round to defend his IBF heavyweight title on September 21.
Oleksandr Usyk lands a backhand punch to Tyson Fury’s face during their heavyweight unification bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18. Photo: Reuters
Usyk and Fury are set to rematch on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia. In the first match on May 18, Usyk won by decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion. in the four-belt era – WBA, IBF, WBC and WBO.
“Usyk is currently the world’s number one heavyweight boxer, but I believe Fury will win the rematch. Because I am a Tyson Fury fan. Because my father named him after me, I will not abandon him,” Tyson predicted.