By: Sean Crose
It looks like the show will continue. After July’s novelty fight between former heavyweight legend Mike Tyson and raw-puncher Jake Paul was postponed due to an in-flight incident related to an inflammatory ulcer that Tyson was suffering from, a new date was announced. fixed. “New day, same location, same fate,” Paul posted on social media Friday morning. The two are scheduled to meet on November 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. What comes as a surprise to many is that this highly anticipated event will not appear on Pay Per View. Rather, the card will be broadcast live on Netflix.
While it will undoubtedly be a lucrative and hugely popular fight, there is concern that the fight will ultimately be seen as a bridge too far for the sport of boxing. After all, Tyson will turn 58 when he steps into the ring next fall in Texas. Furthermore, it has been nearly 20 years since this man last played professionally. On top of that, Tyson was a far cry from his former self in his last professional fight (a loss to Kevin McBride in 2005). One can only imagine the version of Tyson that might emerge in November through no fault of his own but simply due to the passage of time.
However, Tyson is one of those characters that people only see through the lens of their memories (Michael Jordan also occupies that rarefied air) Tyson is intimidating, extremely dominant and extremely talented in the late 1980s…and people will certainly continue to see him that way today. The same can be said for young people who have been exposed to images of Tyson in the past, images that present the Brooklynite as an unstoppable force. Tyson was certainly considered an unstoppable force during his heyday. He’s so nice. But Reagan is still in the White House.
While this doesn’t mean Tyson will lose to Paul, it does raise an interesting question: How much is too much? While Tyson could put Paul away (strength is the ultimate thing for a fighter), those old legs will start to feel a lot older if the much younger Paul lasts more than two or three rounds. And then what happened? A winning decision? A losing decision? A knockout loss? At that time, anything could happen, which was not what many viewers expected. They want the old Tyson. Maybe they will actually capture him, or a close version of that young warrior. After all, boxing is a strange sport.
It is also a very dangerous thing. That’s why it’s a good idea to look at this objectively.
