Mike Tyson pushes back on fan concern ahead of Jake Paul fight: “I’m 58 and what?”

Mike Tyson is a few months out from his 58th birthday, but he’s still ready to return to boxing for Jake Paul.

‘Iron Mike’ stunned fans last month, by signing a deal to face ‘The Problem Child’ in the boxing ring. The fight will be broadcast on Netflix, and go down in front of 80,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. As of now, it remains unclear if the fight will be an exhibition. However, sources have claimed that Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson is being targeted as a professional bout.

Regardless, fan and fighter opinion about the boxing match has been mixed. Even Mike Tyson’s longtime friend Dana White has slammed the bout. Given the heavyweight legend’s age, it’s understandable that fans don’t want to see him compete. In July, there will be a staggering 31-year age difference between Tyson and Jake Paul.

However, that’s not anything that really bothers the aging legend. Speaking in a recent interview with Reuters, Mike Tyson discussed his boxing return against Jake Paul. There, the former heavyweight champion provided a bit of pushback in regards to his age. In Tyson’s view, most fans still want to see him compete.

Furthermore, Tyson believes that the boxing match is a winnable one. If he can fight, and potentially beat Jake Paul, as well as make a lot of money, why shouldn’t he? To ‘Iron Mike’, age is just a number.

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Image via: @netflix on Instagram

Former boxing champion Mike Tyson discusses comeback fight against Jake Paul

“I’m 58 and what? I’m getting billions of views from just the talking to somebody from fighting.” Mike Tyson stated to Reuters, in a recent interview discussing his boxing match against Jake Paul. “Everybody, even most of the athletes, they’re jealous, that’s whack. I say in your prime, you couldn’t draw a million people man. What are you talking, you couldn’t sell out an arena. Who at 58 could sell out an 80,000-seat arena?”

He continued, “Why you think he wants to fight me and not anybody else? Everybody wants to fight him all the boxers want to fight him. But if he fought them the only people that will come are the people that like him. The other guys, their parents might not even come watch them. That’s just keeping it real. They’re too boring for their children to watch, it’s like watching grass grow.”

If Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson goes down as a professionally sanctioned fight, it will be the legend’s first since 2005. That June, ‘Iron Mike’ suffered a stoppage loss to Kevin McBride, after he quit on the stool between rounds.

What do you make of these comments from the boxing legend? Will you watch Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson?