Deontay Wilder knows a thing or two about knockouts, and the last thing he wants to see is Mike Tyson on the receiving end of one.
Tyson, a retired heavyweight boxing legend, makes his return to pro competition on June 20 when he fights social media influencer turned boxing star Jake Paul in Arlington, Texas. When fight night comes around, it will mark more than 20 years since Tyson’s most recent pro bout, and be just 10 days shy of Tyson’s 58th birthday.
Paul, 27, is 9-1 as a professional and is coming off of back-to-back knockouts of journeymen boxers Ryan Bourland and Andre August.
In an interview with Sportsbook Review, Wilder was asked for his thoughts on the upcoming matchup and didn’t hold back with his criticism.
“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 said (transcription via James Bisson). “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.
“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. I don’t want to see it, to be honest. I don’t want to see one of my legends fight a YouTuber. If [Paul] goes in there and he knocks Mike out, that’s going to tarnish the reputation of Mike. I don’t want the last thing I remember of him is him getting knocked out by a YouTuber.”
Tyson and his team have made sure to release plenty of training footage to hype up the fight, creating some optimism that the famed knockout artist can recapture his old magic when he returns to the ring.
While Paul is no stranger to fighting former champions and marquee names, they have all come from the world of MMA, including Anderson Silva, Nate Diaz, and Tyron Woodley.
This isn’t the first time that Wilder has spoken openly about the dangers of boxing. Following his own spectacular KO of Robert Helenius — the 42nd knockout victory of Wilder’s career — he was in tears expressing his concern for Helenius’ health.
There’s no telling how he might react if he has to watch one of his heroes fall to an opponent 30 years his junior.
“[Tyson is] too old for this,” Wilder said. “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.”
