Former undisputed world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is scheduled to have his first professionally sanctioned boxing bout in nearly 20 years when he is set to square off against YouTuber and actor turned boxer, Jake Paul.
Tyson became the youngest boxer in history to win a major heavyweight title when he was just 20 years old, all the way back in 1986. One by one, Tyson won all three major titles of his day (the WBA, WBC, and IBF), and he additionally earned a valid claim to the lineage when he stopped Michael Spinks in one round back in June 1988. At that point Iron Mike was the baddest man on the planet.
But Tyson’s reign came to a sudden and abrupt end at the hands of Buster Douglas. After that, Tyson’s career fell apart. He was out of action for more than 4 years, and when he returned, despite regaining the WBA and WBC titles, he was never the same boxer. Tyson’s last professional loss against Kevin McBride happened in June 2005.
So by the time the 58 year old Mike Tyson enters the ring against the 27 year old Jake Paul, it will have been nearly 20 years since Tyson last had a professional match. To put things in perspective here, Tyson won his first major world championship in November 1986, and Paul wasn’t even born until January 1997. It’s insane! Paul was born in between Tyson’s first loss against Holyfield, and the infamous bite fight that took place when Paul was just 5 months old.
To date, Paul has 11 professional fights, winning 10, with 7 of those wins coming inside the distance. Most of his fights have been against guys who were not professional boxers. In his most recent fight back in July, Paul won by 6th round stoppage against Mike Perry, an MMA boxer and also a bare knuckle boxer. Ironically, that was the date that Paul was originally scheduled to face Iron Mike, but that fight was pushed back to November after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up on an airplane, and medical professionals advised him not to fight until after he recovered from the episode. The entire situation is mighty strange all around. On one hand you have a former all time great who is literally 35 years removed from his best fighting days, and on the other hand you have a young man in his physical prime, who has a little boxing experience, despite never competing anywhere remotely approaching the elite level.
Can 58 year old Iron Mike Tyson turn back the clock and beat Jake Paul?
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will attempt to answer that question, while also providing a quick preview for the upcoming fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, which will be streamed live on Netflix on November 15th. Please watch and enjoy the video for one man’s opinion. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).
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