Former world champion Carl Froch believes there is ‘something in the contract’ that will prevent Mike Tyson ‘from even trying to hurt’ Jake Paul.
Tyson, 58, meets YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul in Dallas on Friday in what is expected to be one of the most watched fights in boxing history.
31 years separate the two with ‘Iron Mike’, once the youngest world champion in history, retiring from the ring in 2005. Tyson has also had well-documented health problems over the last year, revealing he ‘almost died’ as a result of an ulcer flare up that saw the original fight date in July postponed.
Tyson vs Paul will be fought under professional rules – unlike when the former returned to the ring to fight fellow ring legend Roy Jones Jr in 2020 – with knockouts permitted during the eight-round contest.
Froch however is not convinced. The former super-middleweight king is refusing to acknowledge it as anything other than a money-spinning ‘exhibition’, even claiming the former knockout king will be holding back when the opening bell goes on Friday.
‘If something goes wrong with Mike Tyson getting badly hurt, ultimately Jake Paul is the one who’s 30 years younger than him,’ Froch told Metro via Casino.org.
‘They keep talking about this being sanctioned as a professional boxing match, but it’s not professional boxing. First of all, Tyson doesn’t have a license, and secondly, it’s eight two-minute rounds.
‘It’s an exhibition fight. I don’t think it should be happening because Tyson is too old. I don’t think it proves anything when Jake Paul beats him, I’ve heard and believe that there is something in the contract which means Tyson can’t even try and hurt him.
‘Tyson can probably come out in the first 30 seconds of the fight and have a good go at Jake Paul, but ultimately it’s an old man against a young man, it’s not fair. It’s happening because it’s money-spinner and, from that point of view, I admire it. Jake Paul is, if nothing else, a money machine. He’s got his demographic, his audience of teenagers.’
Tyson has put himself through a brutal training camp to prepare for this week’s fight at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, looking in incredible shape as he looks to rediscover the destructive power that aptly saw him named ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’.
While convinced the former champion still has the explosive force to render Paul unconscious, Froch claims the fight is ‘fixed’ to ensure that doesn’t happen.
‘[Tyson] certainly has a small chance because as a former elite professional fighter, he can still throw a punch. He’ll still have some of that punching power.
‘I’m sure if Tyson did land a big left or right hook on the chin of Jake Paul, then he could render him unconscious. That’s the only chance he would have, if he could land a big shot on his chin.
‘I can’t really see that happening, though. In my view it’s all fixed in advance for Paul and Tyson won’t have the opportunity to do that.’
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