Mike Tyson is gearing up for his highly-anticipated November 15 fight against 27-year-old YouTuber cum boxer Jake Paul. But while providing commentary during a September 13 event for Cage Wars, the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion admitted that his training so far hasn’t been particularly smooth as things are “a little shaky”, USA Today reported.
“It’s hard to walk right now,’’ Tyson revealed before emphasizing that he’ll eventually get out of the woods. “But two months from now I’m going to be perfect,’’ he stated.
Tyson’s fight against Paul was pushed to another date after he suffered an ulcer flare-up in May. During the Cage Wars event, Tyson, who said he’s been training about three to four times daily, provided details on his preparation as he gave the commentary.
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The Cage Wars event reportedly kicked off earlier, prompting one of the announcers to ask Tyson if that was because of his training schedule.
“Is that so that you can get a good night’s sleep and make sure you’re up early tomorrow morning to get to start training for Jake Paul?’’ the announcer asked. “We’re trying to get you out of here a little early tonight?’’
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Tyson, however, said that was not the case. “No, I’m going to enjoy my time here tonight with all my childhood friends, and the hell with Jake Paul,” he said.
The legendary boxer, per USA Today, recently said he had a six-round sparring session. He will ultimately be having a ten-round sparring session at a certain point in his training.
“The fight is won in the gym,’’ Tyson said, adding that he uses electric stimulation and stem cells to recover. “Listen, I’ll do anything that will help me,’’ he stated.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, the fight, which will take place in Texas, has been officially sanctioned as a professional bout. According to BBC, this means that the results of the fight will subsequently reflect on Tyson and Paul’s records.
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation said it sanctioned the fight as a professional one with “certain waivers” after it reviewed records and the medical history of both Tyson and Paul. The agency manages combat sports in the state.
“The safety of the contestants competing in the ring or the octagon is always the primary concern,” the TDLR said. The fight, however, has some conditions. It cannot go beyond eight rounds and two minutes per round. Tyson and Paul are also required to wear 14oz gloves instead of 10oz.
Tyson’s professional career ended in 2005 and he has not fought since he and Roy Jones Jr. met in a 2020 exhibition that ended in a draw. Paul has won nine of his 10 boxing fights, usually against ex-UFC fighters. His only defeat was when he came against British heavyweight Tommy Fury in February last year, according to BBC.
