Jake Paul, the YouTuber turned boxer, has become a prominent figure in discussions today, largely thriving under constant criticism and establishing himself as a heel in the sport. Much of the negativity towards Paul stems from his choice of opponents. In his boxing career, Paul suffered a defeat to the only active professional boxer he faced, Tommy Fury.
Beyond Fury, Paul has predominantly squared off against retired MMA fighters and relatively unknown opponents who lacked the ability to contend against him. But Paul has now secured another fight which has sent the boxing world into rage, as he prepares to face the one and only Mike Tyson on July 20th.
Jake Paul gets fact-checked by X
The entirety of the combat sports community have not responded well to the sanctioning of Paul vs Tyson, heavily criticizing Jake for stepping in the ring against a shell of the former Mike Tyson, as he would turn 58 at the time he’ll face Paul. Allowing Tyson to enter the ring against a 27-year old boxer could even be potentially dangerous for his health, which further enraged fans.
To add more fuel to the fire, Paul recently uploaded a training footage of Tyson on his social media, where the boxing legend looked crisp and sharp with his punches. Paul commented, “A member of my team sent me this video that Mike’s coach put up two weeks ago and asked me if I’m sure that I want to do this…yes, yes I do.”
To everyone’s surprise, the post was later fact-checked by X, revealing that the footage is actually 4 years old. This contradiction provided critics with even more reason to humiliate and shame Jake, particularly following the fight announcement.
He’s the greatest heavyweight of all time…the most vicious KO artist ever. But I’m younger, I’m faster and I’m going to be working my ass off to get stronger. A member of my team sent me this video that Mike’s coach put up two weeks ago and asked me if I’m sure that I want to… pic.twitter.com/8krsuyYRtz
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 7, 2024
Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson leaves Eddie Hearn “very sad”
Eddie Hearn, who is one of the most popular boxing promoters in recent history, was asked about his thoughts on the Paul vs Tyson matchup. He replied, “You’re asking the wrong guy. I am a hardcore boxing fan and he’s one of my heroes. I am very sad.”
Hearn expressed his concerns over potential danger to Tyson’s health and also the fact that his illustrious legacy will be affected by losing to a non-ranked boxer who hasn’t defeated any active pro boxer.
When asked about Paul’s credibility after possibly defeating Tyson, Hearn replied by saying, “He’s 58 years old.”
Although most fans might not be pleased with this matchup, it would undeniably be a mega event as the whole world would not be able to help themselves with tuning in to watch the return of one of the sport’s pioneers.
