Andreas Hill, ESPNO, Oct 10, 2024, 03:52pm ET
LAS VEGAS – Even at 58 years old, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson doesn’t expect to be working overtime in the boxing ring.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) will face Jake Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) on November 15 in his first professional boxing match in nearly two decades and the fight is not expected to go ahead — as long as the ‘problem child’ doesn’t run away From him.
“If I don’t have to go after him, you can expect a knockout in the first round,” Tyson said at a press conference to announce his collaboration with LF*GO. Energy bags. “But I may have to arrest him because I expect this man to run away from me.”
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The highly anticipated fight, which pits the boxing legend against the YouTuber turned prize boxer, will stream live on Netflix and take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Tyson has not won a professional boxing match since he stopped Clifford Etienne in February 2003. He suffered back-to-back losses to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride before calling it a career in 2005 at the age of 38. Although it has been nearly 20 years since his last fight, Tyson said he feels great heading into this boxing match because his personal life has settled down and is very different from his turbulent time as heavyweight champion.
“When I was fighting professionally, I would get very nervous,” Tyson said. “I never had the opportunity to relax or enjoy my tournaments because everything was directed at me. There were lawsuits and divorces. I never enjoyed myself as a human being. This is the moment when I can enjoy myself as a human being. I have better life skills now than I did while fighting “
When asked what interested him in returning and facing an opponent 31 years his junior, Tyson expressed his excitement about competing again and said the allure of competing on the football field was too good to pass up.
“I kind of dig it when 80,000 people see it,” he said.
