Deontay Wilder worries for Mike Tyson’s health against Jake Paul.
Tyson (50-6) takes on Paul (9-1) in an eight-round professional boxing match on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys. The event streams live on Netflix.
Former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder can’t believe the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations officially sanctioned Tyson vs. Paul as a professional fight.
“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,” Wilder told Sportsbook Review.
“God forbid he gets hurt. 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. He’s too old for this.”
Wilder questions the commission for allowing Tyson to fight someone who will be 31 years younger than him on fight night.
“At the end of the day, no one gives a f*ck about Mike,” Wilder said. “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. 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.”
Paul’s lone-career loss came to Tommy Fury, who was his toughest test on paper. Wilder thinks it would be a bad look for boxing legend Tyson to lose to Paul.
“I don’t want the last thing I remember of him is him getting knocked out by a YouTuber,” Wilder said. “The last thing you do, that’s what people remember you by.”
For more on the fight, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Paul vs. Tyson.
