Haren
Former undisputed boxing heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson, one of the most feared men to ever step into the ring, made it clear he was taking his upcoming bout against Jake Paul, the American YouTuber-turner pugilist, very seriously. In a video that is three-part build up to the fight, Tyson said: “I don’t want to die in a hospital bed, I want to die in the ring. I want to fight this guy and kick his ass.”
The fight, which will be held at the AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, is scheduled for November 15. Paul is just 27 while Tyson is 58 but a legendary referee who recently watched Tyson in training has warned that the former heavyweight champion is in great shape.
Hall of Fame boxing referee Richard Steele warned Paul not to take Tyson lightly because even though he is close to 60 years old, he still retains a lot of his punching power.
“I don’t see the guy going that distance with Tyson,” Steele told USA Today. “Because Tyson, he’s so strong and he’s an ex-champion. He knows what he’s doing and for two minutes … he can go all out.”
Steele also spoke about how referees need to be extra vigilant when Tyson gets going in the ring and put his punching power in perspective from his days as an active referee.
“You had to be always aware of what’s going on because one of Mike Tyson’s punches could really hurt the other guy. And maybe he doesn’t need to take the other punch,” Steele said.
There was more warning from the Tyson camp.
Gene Kilroy, the manager of the legendary Muhammad Ali, watched Tyson train recently. He was impressed by the shape Tyson is in. “This is the strongest I’ve ever seen you, the strongest I’ve ever seen you and I’ve known you since you were 13 years old,” Kilroy said. “I think this is so (amazing), this impressed the sh*t out of me. Nothing impresses me. You know what, I’m gonna tell you the truth, I don’t lie. I was worried about him traveling here, traveling there, I can sleep now at night. This is great,” Kilroy said.
The Tyson versus Paul fight will be telecast on Netflix.
