Tyson Fury has defended the prospect of Mike Tyson fighting a man 30 years his junior and insisted the American’s bout with Jake Paul is “fantastic for boxing”.
Former heavyweight champion of the world Tyson will take on YouTuber turned boxer Paul in Arlington on July 20. Paul is 27 years old – Tyson will be 58 come fight night – with many expressing their concern at such a difference in age.
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But Fury, who is in training for his unification clash with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on May 18, believes the pay cheques both men will receive outweighs any health worries.
He told The Stomping Ground: “I think it’s fantastic for boxing. You’ve got a legend in Mike Tyson. You’ve got a YouTube boxer [Jake Paul].
“He has come into the game and blew it up and he’s got millions of followers and millions of views and millions of eyes. Good, bad or indifferent.
“Some people love him, some people hate him. So, I think it’s a really good spectacle for boxing. Brings a lot of people to the game.
“Who am I to say, ‘Oh, Mike Tyson shouldn’t be boxing or Jake Paul shouldn’t be boxing’, good luck to them. They’re both gonna make what I call a s—- tonne of money out of it.
“It’d be fantastic for the guys both getting paid, I just don’t know what’s not to like.”
Fire’s in the house#PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/zAXIUNyxEU
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) March 16, 2024
Tyson was one of the biggest names in world sport in the 1980s, earning a fearsome reputation for brutal knockouts on his way to holding the undisputed world title between 1987 and 1990.
Paul’s road from YouTuber to boxer started in 2020 when he fought on the undercard of Tyson’s exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jnr.
And Fury thinks it will be a fairly even fight given their different routes to this stage of their careers.
He added: “Okay, [Tyson’s] 57 years old, but he’s a former undisputed world heavyweight king, and [Paul] plays computers for a living and he’s come to boxing about a year ago. So, pretty even match.
“From being a kid on the Disney Channel to fighting Mike Tyson. Who wouldn’t want to do that? People say, ‘Oh, it’s s—-’, this, that and the other. But, I bet they still watch it. Who’s not intrigued?”
