Eddie Hearn took a brutal dig at “idiots” who believe Mike Tyson should step back into the boxing ring. Addressing the 58-year-old’s highly-anticipated bout against Jake Paul, the Matchroom boxing promoter expressed little enthusiasm for the upcoming fight.
Paul vs Tyson has come under intense scrutiny since it was announced earlier this year, in large part due to the sizable 31-year age gap between the fighters. The long-awaited fight was initially slated to take place on July 20 in Arlington, Texas, but needed to be rescheduled to November 15 after the latter suffered an ulcer flare-up on a flight from Los Angeles to Miami back in May.
Despite now being several months removed from Tyson’s health scare, Hearn insisted that the legendary boxer should not be taking the inherent risks that come with facing off against Paul. “What, what, what on earth are we doing?” Hearn asked in disbelief while speaking to the Daily Mail. “I'm lucky enough to have a business where we don't need to do that. And I will never do that.”
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Hearn has dipped his toes into the world of “influencer boxing,” having promoted Paul’s brother, Logan, during his rematch fight versus YouTuber KSI in November of 2019. Though the bout was a resounding success - with each fighter taking home a guaranteed $900,000 just for showing up - the British promoter conceded that his “heart wasn't really in it.”
With several exciting fights on the horizon, including Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga, Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury II, Hearn said that he had no need to promote a boxer approaching 60 years of age - nor would he want to watch them fight.
“Anyone that thinks that [Tyson] should be in the ring right now either doesn't have his best interests at heart or is an idiot,” he added. “Mike Tyson left the sport of boxing - which was, what, 20 years ago, I don't know, something like that - he was shot to pieces. You honestly think that a fighter that was shot to pieces 20 years ago should now be coming back?
“I mean, I know he is only fighting Jake Paul, but it doesn't matter. Jake Paul's a powerful kid. He trains every day, he can punch. I get it, I get the business. I'm not criticizing them, but for me, no, thank you, not in a million years.”
