To this day, there are still many people who question the Mike Tyson vs. Jack Paul fight, believing that it is a competition that should not be staged, or more like a pure "circle of money" contest. Now, one man has joined the naysayers, and that's former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay "Bronze Bomber" Wilder.
The Tyson vs. Paul fight will be staged at the 80,000-capacity Arlington Stadium in Texas on July 20, however, Wild has criticized the organizers of the match, arguing that profits should not be prioritized over the safety and health of the fighters.
When the bell rings, Tyson will be 58 years old, and the difference between him and Paul is 31 years, setting a new professional boxing record, although many people are looking forward to Tyson's return, thinking that he is still the invincible "iron man" who once was, but in Wilder's view, this is completely "a big dream", and he is worried about Tyson's first real boxing confrontation in 19 years.
Wild admits that he doesn't like the Tyson vs. Paul battle and is afraid that Tyson will be hurt in this contest.
The 38-year-old said: "I think it's a bad thing for the Sports Commission to give Tyson a boxing license because he hasn't been very active for almost 20 years and you shouldn't give him a license just because it's Tyson, which is often the cause of a fighter's injury." ”
In Wilder's view, Tyson did not rule out being knocked unconscious, and bluntly said that the big battle was going on at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
"People can get hit in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and there are a lot of examples of older fighters getting knocked unconscious, and that can easily happen because he's too old to do this, and when the day is over, no one is going to judge Tyson, and we can talk about both the pros and cons, but in the end there are no answers, and I don't think anybody cares about Tyson, and if they really cared, the relevant authorities wouldn't support the fight," Wilder said. ”
Wilder's words don't sound right, but they're not unreasonable, as Tyson is nearly 60 years old and hasn't won a professional fight since knocking out Clifford "The Black Rhino" Etienne in February 2003. Tyson's fans have always felt that defeating "third-rate actor" Paul is not a problem, after all, Paul is not a real fighter and is good at "opportunism", but Wild reiterated his opinion that he does not think that Tyson has a realistic possibility of knocking out his opponent.
"Tyson's power isn't gone, it's just that you still need to rebuild it, and your stamina needs a certain way, otherwise it's like a clown show," Wild said. To be honest, I don't want to watch this competition, I don't want to see the legend in my mind compete with the influencer. ”
As the youngest boxing champion to date in the heavyweight division and the youngest undisputed hegemon in his division to date, Tyson is guaranteed when it comes to boxing legacy. However, Wilder pointed out that although Tyson's loss to Paul will not affect his historical status, if he does lose to his opponent, it will still have more or less an impact.
"If Tyson gets knocked out by Paul, it will affect his reputation, and I don't want myself to remember one thing — Tyson loses to an influencer, knowing that the last thing you do is often the memory of you," Wilder said. ”
At present, the Tyson vs Paul battle can be described as a crowd of people, and more than 120,000 people have pre-sold. There is no doubt that this match will be one of the favourites in world sport this summer, but you probably won't see Wilder in the audience because he doesn't like it, and we hope that Wilder's prediction doesn't come true, and that no one gets hurt in this fight.