MIKE TYSON furiously hit out at “jealous” critics of his fight with Jake Paul.
The heavyweight boxing icon takes on YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in a controversial clash on July 20 at the 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Tyson will be 58 by the time the fight for the ages comes around and nearly 20 years removed from his last professional contest.
So his comeback – not yet confirmed as a sanctioned bout or an exhibition – has come under criticism of the boxing world amid safety fears.
But in an interview with Reuters, Tyson hit back: “I’’m 58 and what? I’m getting billions of views from just talking to somebody about fighting.
“Everybody, even most of the athletes, they’re jealous. That’s whack. I say in your prime you couldn’t draw a million people, man.
“What are you talking – you couldn’t sell out an arena. Who at 58 could sell out an 80,000-seat arena?”
Tyson retired in 2005 but did return in 2020 for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr, which ended in an eight-round draw.
Meanwhile Paul is 9-1 as a boxer who suffered his only defeat to Tyson’s brother Tommy in February 2023, but has won three since.
He has commanded polarising attention since making his pro debut in 2020 and comes to the ring with millions of social media followers.
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And Tyson believes Paul is bringing a whole new audience to boxing, far greater than that of stars before him.
He said: “Why do you think he wants to fight me and not anybody else? Everybody wants to fight him – all the boxers want to fight him.
“But if he fought them, the only people that will come are the people that like him.”
“The other guys, their parents might not even come watch them. That’s just keeping it real.
“They’re too boring for their children to watch. It’s like watching grass grow.”
