Mike Tyson v Jake Paul : The sadness started with the ring walk !

Mike Tyson v Jake Paul, it started with the ring walk !

From the outset I didn’t buy into the pre-fight promotional narrative that Mike Tyson is “training the house down and has reignited skills that will destroy Jake Paul”.  Impressive choreographed training montages don’t necessarily translate into real boxing skills, particularly for a 58 year old ex-boxer with a history of back problems

Conveniently forgotten was the fact that Tyson lost 3 of his last 4 fights when he retired 19 years ago.  By the end of his 15year career he was a spent force. So all of a sudden he was suddenly going to return to his true Iron Mike golden era when he was between 20-23 years of age in 1987-90?  Absolute Nonsense!

But Still, like a lot of boxing fans, I harbored some hope that Iron Mike would  find 10 seconds of his youth  and corner Jake Paul to  pound  what Sally Jenkin of the Washington Post says is,” the most punch able face in the history of punched faces.“

 The Ring Walk

My worries started with the ring walk.  Ex-athletes usually have a rhythmic, purposeful stride that denotes confidence and worldliness accumulated over a lifetime of contests whatever their particular sport.  Tyson had a halting compromised walking gait that lacked fluidity of movement.  He reminded me of (and I mean no disrespect) an 81 year old President Joe Biden and neurologically affected clients I have worked with in my over 30 years in the Fitness Industry.

 Iron Mike has been less than iron for some time. In 2015 he had surgery to his back after he fell heavily after attempting to ride one his kids hover boards

Of course this is purely speculation. I’m not a doctor so I’m not in a position to diagnose underlying medical/neurological problems but given his history and continued problems with crippling sciatica… well it seems like at least “informed speculation”.

Roy Jones comments

 I’ve met many boxers over the years and found that nearly all of them have very astute observations about human movement in and out of the ring. My old boxing coach Aussie Olympian Des Duguid springs to mind, along with Muhammad Ali’s brother Rahman Ali.

From the moment the fight started Roy Jones commentated “ I don’t like the look of Mike’s legs, they just don’t look right”  There was a knee bandage on Tyson’s right knee but this was more than  a knee injury it was his whole gait and compromised movement pattern that Jones was seeing and commentated on throughout  the fight.

Peek a Boo Boxing Style

As renowned trainer Teddy Atlas has often stated, the peek a boo style with gloves held close to the face and quick side to side head movement ,relies on extremely fast movement and razor sharp reflexes. Mike Tyson lost those quick reflexes and movement years ago. By the time he fought Lenox Lewis in 2004 they were virtually nonexistent.

There’s a reason Mike and Floyd Patterson, both trained by Cus Damato, are the only 2 Heavyweight Champions to use that style.

With all of this in mind a 28 year old man in his prime with a 4 inch height and 6 inch reach advantage   in a huge ring has it tailor made for him to keep away and out of harm.

Even a 58 year Mike Tyson with crippling back problems can still hurt you. If the fight was in a telephone booth, not a 20 foot ring, Iron Mike would still pulverize Jake Paul and most other human beings walking the plan

A word or 2 on Jake Paul

Jake Paul could have really hurt Mikes Tyson in the late rounds when he clearly was getting tired. It’s to Paul’s credit that he did not do this out of respect for Tyson.

No doubt Jake Paul is a Master Promoter.  If he can generate so much revenue that reportedly leaves him getting $40million and Tyson $20 million more power to him. It can also be said that he brings attention to the boxing world that it normally wouldn’t have so in the long run it’s good for all Boxers.

Maybe so, but there are still many of us old boxing purists out there who feel that it cheapens boxing and makes it seem that almost can anyone could get in a ring and do it.

If  Jake Paul  continues to dodge fights with real boxers and chooses retired old UFC  fighters and Boxers I hope his next choice is one of the recently retired ex champs who are still relatively young like Carl “the Cobra” Froch or Andre Ward.  This would see him totally exposed as a good, competent YouTube fighter but not in any way a world championship caliber boxer.  I note that ex world Cruiserweight Champ Tony Bellew crashed the pre-fight press conference to question Jake Paul’s legitimacy.  I wouldn’t like to see that fight because Bellew a self-described “Big Lump” would seriously injure Jake Paul.

Mike Tyson has been through a lot in his life. There is no need to deify him and there have certainly been some people he has legitimately hurt both in boxing and life along the way.  If you read his biography “Undisputed Truth” he should get a gold medal for even being alive. Tyson fully admits all of this and doesn’t try to portray himself as a saint.

Hopefully the $20 million he received serves him and his family well so that we are spared this sad spectacle happening again and Iron Mike Tyson can live the rest of his days in peace with no punches thrown in or out of the ring.