Jake Paul sent chilling warning as Mike Tyson health fears dismissed
Mike Tyson may be 30 years older than Jake Paul, but the influencer boxer has been warned that one of the greatest knockout artists of all time is yet to lose his punching power.
Tyson is coming out of retirement to fight Paul on July 20, a bout that will be streamed live on Netflix to all 260 million account holders. Paul has ambitions of being a future world champion, and has agreed to take on one of the greatest champions in boxing history to make a statement.
Paul is currently 9-1 and has never been knocked out, while Tyson finished his career 50-6, with an astonishing 44 knockouts. Although in his peak Tyson would be expected to beat Paul inside the first round, some fans have feared that due to his age he could end up losing to the influencer boxer, who is still disliked by a large portion of the community.
But former boxer and current promoter Oscar De La Hoya has told Paul that he must take the fight extremely seriously after UFC legend Chuck Liddell warned the 27-year-old that Tyson could easily finish him. Paul is already being considered as a 1/3 betting favourite for the fight, but De La Hoya and Liddell don't think it will be an easy ride.
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"As soon as Tyson hits him, it's over," Liddell told TMZ. "The last thing to go is power, last thing to go is power. If he hits him, it's over. If you've seen Mike, he still hits."
When Liddell was asked if he had any advice for Paul, he answered: "Keep covered up, man." Although it's the next step in Paul's career, who has so far faced UFC fighters and boxers without a major pedigree, both the influencer and Tyson are set to make a considerable amount of money.
With Netflix taking ownership of the fight as they look to become the latest streaming service to compete for sporting events, both Tyson and Paul could be set to receive the largest purse of their careers. De la Hoya is aware of the money at stake due to being an active promoter, but although he's convinced that finances are a key factor in their decision to fight, he still urged Paul to treat it like a title fight.
"Jake Paul, you say you want to be a world champion, you say you want to take this sport seriously - then take it seriously," De La Hoya said. "What is this? This is not a popularity contest. I'm actually praising Jake Paul for taking this [sport] seriously, because I really feel that if he fights the right fights and takes the right path to that world title, he can actually get there.
"I'm not sure - because it's up to him if he can win it - but he can get there. But he's not going to get there through Mike Tyson. He's going to make a s***-ton of money. He's going to gain more popularity at Mike Tyson's expense. Do I like it? No, because I love Mike Tyson.
"It will not be dangerous for Tyson because Tyson has been in the ring with monsters. He has a chin. I'm sure he can still go six rounds, seven rounds, eight rounds. But I'm just concerned about Tyson's legacy."