- Mike Tyson expects Jake Paul to be at his best in their boxing match
- “Iron Mike” spoke about how he has been conditioning mentally and physically for the fight
Mike Tyson talked about his mindset and conditioning heading into his highly-anticipated fight with Jake Paul.
Mike knows Jake will be coming for him
Speaking to Fox News, the boxing legend said he has been training like a beast but at the same time, he also knows Paul wouldn’t be a joke like some people think. Instead, Tyson expects “The Problem Child” to take his A game inside the ring.
“I don’t think he’s faster than me,” Tyson said. “I train every day. I take it serious. It’s the process of going through the whole day. I get up in the morning and do the road work. Then I go to the gym at 1, then I go to the strength and conditioning guy, then it starts all over again.”
“I think he’s come a long way from YouTube-ing. Listen, I’ve seen a YouTube of him at 16 doing weird dances, that’s not the guy I’m going to be fighting. This guy is going to come, he’s going to try and hurt me, which I’m accustomed to. And he’s going to be greatly mistaken.”
Even with rumors swirling about 18oz gloves and headgear, Mike Tyson remains adamant that this fight will be taken seriously.
“[The rumors are] not true. Listen, this is called an exhibition but if you look up exhibition, you will not see any of the laws that we’re fighting under. This is a fight.”
Obstacles only make Mike stronger
The world had witnessed Tyson encounter obstacles that could have easily deterred him. However, instead of being defeated by these adversities, “Iron Mike” used them as fuel to propel himself forward.
According to Tyson, he has that same mentality heading into his showdown with Paul.
“I have a weird personality. I don’t think it’s weird, though. Whatever I’m afraid to do, I do it. And that’s how it is. I was afraid for the Roy [Jones Jr.] fight. I was scared to fight again, I was 100lbs overweight. I was however old, 54, 53 [years old], and I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Anything I’m afraid of, I confront it and that’s my personality. Like, right now, I’m scared to death. But as the fight gets closer, the less nervous I become because it’s reality, and in reality, I’m invincible,” Tyson explained.
“I always believed that adversity or nervousness, it pretty much catapulted me into success. If I didn’t have these feelings, I wouldn’t go into this fight. I have to have these feelings to fight, without them, I would never go in the ring,” he added.
Tyson last stepped inside the ring in 2020 when made his boxing return against Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match. On the other hand, Paul is coming off a spectacular first-round KO win over Ryan Bourland.
Tyson vs. Paul will take place on July 20 and will be streamed live on Netflix.
