Opinion: Mike Tyson Is So Old (And He’s About To Get Cooked)
Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Will history repeat itself? Most likely.
Heavyweight boxing legend, Mike Tyson, 58, finally battles YouTuber-turned boxer, Jake Paul, 27, this weekend (Fri., Nov. 15, 2024) from inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, streaming live on a historic Netflix broadcast.
While “Tyson vs. Paul” is a one-of-a-kind event — with millions of people tuning in to see if a 58-year-old killer still has some juice left in the tank (here’s how) — I've got bad news: It's going to be a depressing night.
Let me take you back to Sept. 11, 2021, when former Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) knockout artist, Vitor Belfort, took on four-time world Heavyweight champion, Evander Holyfield.
Indeed, Belfort knocked out Holyfield in less than two minutes of their scheduled eight-round exhibition match (watch highlights).
Vitor Belfort’s pressure proved to be too much for Evander Holyfield.
(via @OmarESPN) pic.twitter.com/wlR89gCjJC
— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) September 12, 2021
Holyfield was 58 years old at the time (Belfort was 44). It was the Brazilian's second-ever boxing match after a long, epic career in mixed martial arts (MMA). For what it’s worth, Belfort lost his next boxing match (two years later) to a world-class Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist / MMA veteran, Jacare Souza.
Now, let's compare Holyfield vs. Belfort to Tyson vs. Paul.
"Iron" Mike is 58 years old, while "El Gallo" is 27. Paul has invested millions of dollars into his boxing career and has been quite successful, with 11 wins, seven of which came via knockout. Other than the 2020 exhibition match with Roy Jones Jr. that went to a draw (Tyson should have won), Tyson hasn't competed in a boxing match since 2005 against Kevin McBride, where he quit on the stool in the seventh round (I'm choosing to ignore his 2006 exhibition match — nothing happened).
Yes, Tyson is among the scariest people on Earth — even at almost 60 years old — but he's fighting someone more than three decades years younger. In addition, Paul is an unabashed clout chaser, looking to create a viral knockout in what will be one of the most-watched fights of the last century.
And he's going to do it (despite this).
That’s right, pure combat sports fans will go to sleep Friday night hating Paul because he will knockout Tyson on the Dallas Cowboys’ home field and then claim, preposterously, that he's the face of boxing.
Will it be the first round? I'm not sure, but at some point, Paul will touch Tyson's 58-year-old chin and render him unconscious, which pains me to write.
To quote Spanish philosopher, George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
For much more on the upcoming Paul vs. Tyson boxing spectacle click here.
