Mike Tyson has hit out at critics of his comeback fight against Jake Paul by claiming they are just ‘jealous’ of his popularity.
Tyson announced last month that he will return to the ring to take on the ex-YouTuber, 27, at the 80,000-seater AT&T Stadium in Texas on July 20, with the fight to be shown live on Netflix.
The former two-time heavyweight champion will be 58 by the time he enters the ring, and promoter Eddie Hearn has claimed it is ‘really sad’ that he is returning, while Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez stated he has no interest in the fight.
Tyson retired from the sport in 2005, and has had just one exhibition bout against against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr since, but he does not appear concerned by his time away from the ring, and insists that billions of people will still tune on to see him face Paul.
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‘I’m 58, and what? I’m getting billions of views from just talking about fighting,’ he told Reuters.
Mike Tyson will take on Jake Paul at an 80,000-seater stadium in Texas in July
The fight has received criticism due to Tyson’s age, but the former heavyweight champion believes people are just ‘jealous’ of his popularity
‘Everybody, even most of the athletes, they’re jealous… You couldn’t sell out an arena. Who at 58 can sell out an 80,000-seat arena? Why do you think he wants to fight me and not anybody else?
‘All the boxers want to fight him. But if he fought them, the only people that will come are the people that like him. Their parents might not even come watch them.’
Since calling time on his professional career almost two decades ago, Tyson has battled with physical issues and was wheelchair-bound at one stage due to sciatica.
But he helped train Francis Ngannou for his fight against Tyson Fury last year, with the former UFC champion almost pulling off a massive upset, and has got himself back into good condition in recent months.
‘Iron Mike’ has shared footage of his workouts on social media, having already started his training camp despite his fight with Paul being over three months away.
He sent out a warning to Paul last month, asking him ‘you still wanna f*** with me’ after posting one of his power workouts, as he looks to rediscover the explosiveness that made him a major force in boxing’s blue-riband division when he was at the peak of his powers.
But it will be a tall ask for Tyson, as Paul has been active since making his debut four years ago, racking up a record of nine wins and just one loss.
He tasted defeat for the first time last year against bitter rival Tommy Fury, but has since won three on the bounce, and is likely to head into the fight as the favourite due to being 30 years younger than Tyson.
