Deontay Wilder thinks the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation made a big mistake by sanctioning Mike Tyson’s fight with Jake Paul as a professional bout.
On Friday, November 15, the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ will return to the ring for the first time in nearly two decades when he takes on ‘The Problem Child’ inside the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. From the moment their fight was announced, pundits have slammed the pairing, many of them taking exception to the ridiculous 31-year age gap between Tyson and the YouTube star.
Deontay Wilder Fears for Mike Tyson’s well-being in Jake Paul fight
Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder recently voiced his disgust for the TLDR’s decision to license Tyson, believing that it could put the 58-year-old icon in serious harm.
“I think it’s bad the commission has licensed Mike Tyson because he hasn’t been active in 20 years, so they should not just license him because of who he is, that’s how people get hurt, god forbid he gets hurt,” Wilder told talkSPORT. “People can get hit in the wrong place and at the wrong time, there’s lots of examples where guys have been hit into a coma. It’s easy to do. He’s too old for this.
“At the end of the day, no one gives a f*ck about Mike. We can talk about the pros and cons, but at the end of the day, they don’t give a f*ck. I don’t think anyone cares about Mike because if they did they wouldn’t sanction the fight.
“They may say they’ve done tests and all that, ok, but as long as you’re willing to suffer the consequences if something bad goes wrong. His power may not have left completely but you still need to set it up, your stamina needs to be a certain way, or it’s going to look like a clown show.”
Paul vs. Tyson has already been postponed once after ‘Iron’ suffered a medical emergency during a cross-country flight in May. The incident was ultimately chalked to an ulcer flare-up, but it was enough to push the fight out of its originally scheduled July 20 date.
Paul vs. Tyson will air exclusively on Netflix.