Mike Tyson has been told to prove he still has what it takes to spar ahead of his fight with Jake Paul.
He has not fought professionally for almost 20 years, since he retired on his stool after five rounds against Kevin McBride. Tyson did return to the ring in 2020 for an exhibition against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr which was scored a draw after eight rounds and which followed a similar rule set to Tyson’s clash with Paul.
And UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes fans have not seen enough training footage of Tyson to show he will be able to compete with Paul. “I wish he didn’t do it,” Rogan said on his podcast. “I wish it wasn’t a thing. I wish it wasn’t a thing where a 58-year-old guy was going to fight a 28-year-old. That said, I fully support his desire to do it. What, is he going to live forever? No, he’s not going to live forever. Maybe he wants one more shot at it. Maybe his body can do one more fight. I don’t know.
“He looks great on the mitts, but I can look good on the mitts, especially if you’re watching 30-second clips. What you want to see is him sparring. You want to see him hitting the bag for multiple rounds. Let’s see three rounds hard on the bag. I want to see what you can do. I want to see how your feet move. I want to see what it looks like if you’re off balance when you’re throwing combinations.”
Rogan’s comments follow those of promoter Eddie Hearn who has branded Tyson’s fight with Paul “sad”. Responding to comments from Paul’s former trainer BJ Flores, Hearn said: “He’s in his 50’s and when he last fought professionally 20 years ago it was sad to watch. I don’t believe he is healthy enough to fight and if it’s gonna be competitive then that says it all. As for a grown man making his own decisions, you know it’s up to the people around the fighters to make the right decision and you know he shouldn’t be fighting.”
