This clip is short and sweet, but holy shit.
I’ve officially declared my allegiance for the upcoming Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight after watching this video of Mike Tyson training. My money is on Mike Tyson.
I get it. I understand that Tyson is older and on the surface level, it seems nutso to be getting back into the ring with a 27 year old. Especially one that may or may not be PED’d out of his mind. Maybe this is the last and final cash grab that Mike Tyson will take part in, and I respect the pursuit of the bag, but am I crazy to think he could actually win?
This could be my flawed logic and boxing might indeed be a young man’s game. But there’s one thing Jake Paul doesn’t have that Mike Tyson does: He’s a lifer. He’s a boxer. He’s a guy that’s only ever really done one thing, and that’s box. It’s all he’s ever known. I think Jake Paul has become, if nothing else, an entertaining figure in this three-ring circus that is the current boxing world. Ultimately, this is just a hobby that Jake Paul picked up a few years ago and has leaned into. Most of his fights have been rinky-dink celebrity deathmatches or former UFC fighters cross-pollinating into boxing. These guys don’t have “it” when it comes to boxing, and he knows better than to call out the big dogs. Most of his opponents learned how to box secondarily. They didn’t grow up doing it and spend their entire lives dedicating themselves to it. Jake Paul has cautiously dabbled with actual, professional boxers, but the last time that happened he lost to Tommy Fury in January of 2023.
Tyson was legitimately the scariest motherfucker to look at from across the ring in his prime. After watching this video, assuming Mike Tyson can get into some semblance of fighting shape (whatever that looks like at 58 years old), I’m not so sure that’s any different. The guy hasn’t truly trained in around 4 years when he fought Roy Jones Jr. in November of 2020, and training clips can be deceiving, but I’m taking the bait. I don’t even care.
Interestingly enough, the last time Tyson put the gloves on was the same fight that featured Jake Paul vs. Nate Robinson on the undercard. Jake Paul initiated snooze-mode on Nate Robinson and that more or less jumpstarted Jake Paul’s professional boxing career. Things have come full-circle.
It’s safe to assume that Tyson’s lost a step or two over the years, and maybe he’s sucking wind within 30 seconds of touching gloves, but this video has me convinced that he can still rock and roll. Nobody can tell me any different. He looks fast enough for these eyes and his punches are landing like wrecking balls. I firmly believe if Tyson lands a heavy doink into Jake Paul’s underboob, he’s gonna be at least momentarily crippled and that’ll let Tyson settle in and have some fun.
His trainer is wearing a shield vest and you can still see some anguish on his face after this kidney shot. Look how happy Tyson is to be punishing midsections again.
Prayers for Jake Paul (and this trainer, who will be pissing blood after this session).