Footage of Mike Tyson looking ferocious in training has done the rounds recently, but UFC legend Chael Sonnen has his doubts.
HIGHLIGHTS
Mike Tyson will fight Jake Paul, 31 years his junior, later this year, sparking debates on the safety and legitimacy of the event.
Chael Sonnen, meanwhile, has accused Tyson of faking recent training videos, while discussing his disapproval of the fight.
Jake Paul has already had to refute suggestions that the fight would involve headguards.
The highly-anticipated fight between former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson and former YouTuber Jake Paul is just over three months away, with those within the boxing world already having their say ahead of the bout.
Tyson will be 58 by the time the fight comes around, meaning that he will be taking on someone 31 years younger than him, an age gap that many believe is enough for the event to not go ahead. American promoter and former UFC fighter Chael Sonnen is one of those in this camp and has even accused Tyson of faking his training videos as he prepares for the clash.
Sonnen Accuses Mike Tyson of Faking Videos
Sonnen hinted that Tyson had only been hitting the pads for a few seconds in the recent footage, where he did actually look very powerful and ferocious, and took a jibe at him, telling ‘Iron Mike’ to splash himself with water next time to make it look like sweat.
You still wanna f*** with me?#PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/CqdKF4zFBJ — Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) March 16, 2024
He said: “In the future, if you’re ever going to spend five seconds hitting mitts, as a way of making the audience believe you’re doing a training session, make sure you splash water on your face and T-shirt first.”
Criticism of Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson
The dramatic age difference has been heavily criticised online, with Paul’s choice of opponent yet again being questioned, while medical professionals are even warning Tyson that it is incredibly dangerous for his health.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic : Mike Tyson is 11/8 to beat Jake Paul.
Tyson’s arch-rival Evander Holyfield accepted a similar offer back in 2021, with first-time boxer Vitor Belfort winning via a first-round knockout in an exhibition match.
Speaking on Patrick Bet David’s podcast, Sonnen referenced that fight, saying: “Vitor Belfort, who has never boxed, put him away so fast. Vitor, who has never done it [boxing], put him away so fast that it ended Vitor’s boxing career. They would not book him again. They labelled him like an elderly abuser. Paul will get teased for taking this Tyson fight.”
Although there has not been any official confirmation yet regarding the rules, The Problem Child reacted angrily on social media when it was mentioned that the two would wear headguards for the fight, something that he wanted to quickly rubbish in order to save face and save credibility surrounding the fight.
Taking to social media to respond, Paul angrily said: “Just a quick message to the people who are complaining about the rules of me vs Mike Tyson. Some TikTok user made a video making up all these fake rules like me and Logan tag teaming him, us wearing headgear, all of this is b*******.
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Tyson and Paul meet on July 20th in Dallas.
“If you believe that you’re a f****** idiot and shouldn’t be allowed to vote, you shouldn’t be allowed to drive on the street and endanger other people. I feel for anyone who believes that I would let my fans down in a fight like this and wear headgear, come on now people.”
