Jake Paul will take on Mike Tyson and has sent a message to his rival after dropping a sparring partner in training
Jake Paul has posted footage of the YouTuber dropping a sparring partner as he prepares for his fight with Mike Tyson.
Paul will take on heavyweight legend Tyson in Texas next month in a controversial fight which has already been postponed once. The rivals were due to clash in July but Tyson was forced to pull out after suffering from an inflamed ulcer on a flight.
Tyson has now been cleared to fight and will walk to the ring for the first time in four years to take on the social media star who is 30 years his junior. The 58-year-old’s last outing saw him draw with fellow legend Roy Jones Jr while his last professional bout saw him quit on his stool after five rounds against Kevin McBride in 2005.
Paul, meanwhile, has won 10 of his 11 fights with his only defeat coming against Tommy Fury last year. Most recently, he stopped bare-knuckle fighter and former UFC star Mike Perry who stepped in to replace Tyson on the original fight date.
And with just four weeks until the first bell, Paul has posted footage of him dropping a sparring partner with a right hand. Paul then shouts to the camera: “Don’t charge at me, Tyson”.
But fans were left unconvinced by the footage, with one saying: “That dude had zero head movement, one of Mike’s best attributes” while another added: “Big Mike going to take bro’s head off his shoulders”. One commenter on social media reckoned the sparring partner was a “paid actor” while another declared: “Jake ain’t beating anyone up”.
Paul has been widely criticised for fighting Tyson who has had a number of medical problems over the last few years. Indeed, promoter Eddie Hearn, who has clashed with Paul, in the past, claims he will leave the arena after his fighter Katie Taylor takes on Amanda Serrano in their highly-anticipated rematch.
“The reality is that 20 years ago when Mike Tyson retired from the sport he was shot, completely finished,” Hearn told BBC Sport. “It was actually sad to watch then, 20 years ago.”
“I’m in awe of him – he’s one of my favourite ever fighters, one of the greatest of all time – but he’s a 58-year-old man. You only need to speak to him and look at him to know this guy should not be in a ring again.”
