On July 20, Jake Paul will take on Mike Perry in an eight-round fight at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay. This date was originally circled on Paul's calendar as the day on which he would fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in Arlington, Texas -- but due to Tyson's health concerns amid an ulcer flare-up, the two will not tango until November.
However, that hasn't stopped the boxing world from lodging predictions about what is to come at AT&T Stadium. One of Tyson's fiercest rivals is the latest to chime in, and he has offered a surprising take on the upcoming, highly-anticipated bout.
Lennox Lewis is in Iron Mike's corner
Lennox Lewis, another former heavyweight champ, offered a bold endorsement of his one-time rival Tyson, issuing a warning to Paul that the 58-year-old still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve. Lewis thinks that Tyson's vast experience will trump Paul's relative inexperience, saying "you can probably fight somebody like that and do well because they're not a true fighter, and there's a hundred things you've forgotten that he's learning."
"Mike Tyson is going to win," Lewis told FOX 29 Philadelphia. "Mike Tyson is not that old. Don't take him too softly."
The comments from Lewis could come as a surprise to many, seeing as he once had a fierce rivalry with Tyson -- culminating in a widely-publicized 2002 bout in Memphis, Tennessee. In January of that year, the fighters and their respective entourages engaged in a brawl during the standard pre-fight press conference, deepening the enmity between the two. In the bout itself, five months later, Lewis knocked out Tyson in the eighth round.
However, the passage of time has proven healing for Lewis, who clearly still respects Tyson's ability and preparation. He believes there is one strategy in particular that Tyson will employ in order to "drop" Paul and end this fight early on.
"If Mike comes with a ten-second combination and catches him, he's 100% (getting dropped to the mat)," Lewis said.
