Question: What’s the worst thing I can wish upon Jake Paul when he fights Mike Tyson on Netflix Friday without you thinking less of me? Is paralysis on the table? How about a fractured orbital bone or broken jaw? That sounds fun. Whatever it is, that’s what I hope happens to Paul when he boxes Tyson Friday.
Tyson is on my Mount Rushmore of athletes. I have a photo of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! signed by the man himself hanging on my wall. I was born and raised in upstate New York, where he started his boxing career. My earliest memories were of my mother throwing parties for Tyson’s fights. She used to say, “Don’t be late because you might miss the whole fight”.
Something rubs me the wrong way about Paul. Since sports betting takes up so much of my bandwidth, I don’t consume Jake’s, or his brother Logan’s, content. Yet, I grew up loving boxing, initially because of Tyson. Then I became a fan of Roy Jones Jr., Bernard Hopkins, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
With that in mind, I guess I’m salty because Paul’s boxing career diminishes the sport. The only reason it’s a thing is that there aren’t enough good American boxers currently, and Paul is popular with the Gen Z crowd. I’d love to see Terence Crawford take the payday and put an end to Paul’s career.
READ: Jake Paul Thinks He’s Going To Knock Out Mike Tyson, His Girlfriend Jutta Leerdam Isn’t As Confident
Furthermore, I’m not convinced this is a legitimate bout. There are eight, two-minute rounds, and they will wear 14-ounce gloves instead of the 10-ounce gloves used in regular heavyweight fights. Tyson fought Jones in a weird exhibition match in 2020 that ended with a split draw. Paul knocked out former NBA player Nate Robinson on the Tyson-Jones card.
He couldn’t get this fight 30 years ago. If Paul did, Tyson would knock his a** out in the first round. Twenty-three of Tyson’s 44 career knockouts came in the first round. And Tyson could still drop Paul early because power is the last thing to go in boxing. Plus, Paul lost his only bout vs. a real boxer, Tommy Fury, last year.
Paul is talking about challenging Canelo Álvarez if he beats Tyson. Come on dude. Canelo is the sport’s biggest draw and boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter. He ain’t fighting Paul. Ridiculous. That would be like that Lethal Shooter guy playing Steph Curry one-on-one basketball. There are levels to this and Canelo is a legend and Paul is a sideshow.
The sharp money is probably on Paul because the public bets underdogs in combat sports rather than favorites in team sports. However, I’m betting Tyson wins because of my love for Tyson, and him knocking out Paul would make the world a better place. BetMGM has the best odds for Tyson at +195, but I’d bet him at any price below -200.
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