Mike Tyson learned all he needed to know about Jake Paul when he observed the YouTuber's sparring session, and was left unimpressed.
The duo were scheduled for a face-off earlier this summer, but the boxing titan had to delay his comeback to the ring due to an inflamed ulcer. Tyson had to halt training on medical advice but has recently resumed gym sessions and is adamant that he will be prepared to step into the ring later this year.
The showdown between the two high-profile figures is slated for Friday, November 15 in Arlington, Texas at the AT&T Stadium, with a potential audience of up to 90,000 spectators. 'Iron Mike's' last professional match was in 2005 when he retired after five rounds against Kevin McBride. His most recent fight was an exhibition against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr in 2020, held behind closed doors.
The match has drawn criticism from many, particularly due to the three-decade age difference between the two combatants. However, Tyson - who celebrated his 58th birthday in June - doesn't seem fazed by the idea of taking on the social media star.
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This could be attributed to the time he watched the 27-year-old spar in Los Angeles two years ago.
The 58-year-old icon Tyson dropped by Freddie Roach's Wild Card gym in 2022, coincidentally on the same day YouTube star-turned-boxer Paul was gearing up for his bout with UFC legend Anderson Silva. In a revealing interview with Fight Hype, Roach shared Tyson's rather blunt assessment of Paul's boxing prowess.
Tyson, it seems, was far from wowed by 'The Problem Child'. According to Roach, 'Iron Mike' watched Paul spar for a mere half a minute before suggesting they move on.
He said: "Tyson looked at him and left. He saw 30 seconds of him sparring and said, 'Freddie, can we go down and see the pictures? '. He knows that's where the good pictures are. He wasn't as interested as I was."
Roach himself offered a lukewarm take on Paul's skills, describing him as "The kid's okay, a club fighter... I don't know him personally and I've never really met him. He was in my gym and wondered if they could use the ring and I said go ahead."
Upon catching wind of these scathing remarks, Paul didn't hesitate to hit back. In an interview with talkSPORT, he vehemently refuted claims of training at Roach's establishment: "First and foremost, I saw these things that Freddie Roach was saying - that I was like sparring at his gym. First of all, I've never even trained at Wild Card gym, Freddie is a f------ idiot, he's a hater,'' he retorted."
"Mike Tyson has never watched me spar, Mike Tyson has never been in the gym at the same time as me sparring. I went to Wild Card like once to talk to somebody for a meeting and for my brother's press conference there. But Mike Tyson wasn't anywhere in the vicinity, so it's just Freddie Roach spreading rumours. Especially because me and Mike are friends man."
