Jake Paul will fight Mike Tyson on July 20 in Arlington, Texas in a boxing match that will be broadcast on Netflix. This has drawn almost universal outrage from fans, who feel that Tyson, nearly a senior citizen, has no chance against the three-decade-younger and in his athletic prime Paul.
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In addition, the 57-year-old also suffers from a bevy of health issues, which would undoubtedly serve as a handicap against “the Problem Child’ and has led even Paul’s most strident supporters to criticize him for the move. However, UFC analyst and former UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen defended Paul’s move.
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Sonnen claimed that Paul was taking a risk by fighting Tyson since he did not know what kind of shape the former heavyweight champion was in, and if his health issues were indeed bad enough to the point he stood no chance. Plus, he felt that there was a chance that the former champion may even knock him out. This risk, according to Chael, is why he did not think it was right to dismiss the fight as a mere cash grab.
“If you were in that spot of Jake Paul, don’t bring up the money to promote, don’t do that. You’re going to step into the ring with Mike Tyson, the one thing you don’t know for sure: has he slowed? Is he senile? Was those walker stories true? Is that marijuana medicinal? Or if he hits me one time am I going down?” Sonnen said.
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“You don’t actually know and therefore for accepting the risk that you’re involved with, that risk is what gets a guy credit, it’s what gets him respect, it’s what gets him honor, it’s what gets him remembered, and starts to build a legacy,” he added. While Chael may be trying his best to defend ‘The Problem Child’, the social media star’s own brother, Logan Paul seemingly agreed with Jake’s critics.
Logan Paul calls Mike Tyson ‘old’ and ‘senile’
Jake Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, who also dabbles in celebrity boxing, talked about Jake’s fight with Mike Tyson on his ‘Impaulsive’ podcast and, in characteristic Logan Paul fashion, threw shade his brother’s way, claiming that Tyson was ‘too old’ and ‘senile’ to have a chance in the fight. In addition, he also claimed that he was offered a fight with Tyson before Jake, but turned it down.
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“I’ve been asked before: ‘Do you think you could beat Mike Tyson?’ My answer was, and will be, yes. I just think he’s too old, it’s crazy. He’s senile,” Logan said. However, Jake responded to his big brother on his own podcast soon after and accused his brother of lying about being offered a Tyson fight. “That’s a complete lie. Why are you fabricating lies?” Jake said on his ‘Betr’ podcast. Clearly, almost everyone, including Jake Paul’s own brother think Tyson is too old and unhealthy to stand any chance against Paul. But not Chael Sonnen, who thinks Jake is taking a real risk. What do you think about ‘Uncle Chael’s take on the Tyson-Paul fight?
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