“If I win, I will be immortal.”
Former boxing superstar Mike Tyson is about to make his much-discussed return to the ring. He is willing to accept anything for this. “But if I do it badly, I don’t want to die in a hospital bed. I want to die in the ring.”
The statements come from a three-part Netflix documentary that is intended to prepare the mood for the fight between the ex-heavyweight world champion and influencer Jake Paul.
In terms of sport, the duel between the megastar of the 80s and 90s and the 31-year-younger competitor on Saturday night (around 2 a.m./Netflix) is not really to be taken seriously.
But the fact that “Iron Mike” is getting back in the ring for an official fight and that the reach and marketing power of Netflix is behind it makes it a mega event. Paul’s promoter Nakisa Bidarian predicted “the most watched boxing event in modern boxing history.”
Tyson collects between 50 and 100 million euros
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There will be 80,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (Texas), the stadium of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. “I could rest,” said 58-year-old Tyson, “but I want to fight this guy and kick his ass.” By the way, the fee is also right. Experts assume that Tyson, as the big draw of the number, will collect between 50 and 100 million euros.
At the best of times, the dazzling boxing star could buy anything he wanted. He kept lions and tigers in his luxury mansion in Maryland. Tyson once said that he had squandered half a billion US dollars in his life. The extravagant lifestyle, wrong friends, bad decisions – all of this led to financial bankruptcy in 2003.
Tyson revealed that he spent the last million in his account on rehab for his alcohol and drug addiction. It’s somehow typical of Tyson that he recovered financially by investing in a cannabis products company.
Attack of weakness in July – special rules are intended to protect health
Because of his attack of weakness on a plane and the consequences of a stomach ulcer, the fight originally planned for July had to be postponed until the fall. According to media reports, Tyson must undergo a final health check 24 hours before the fight.
If there are any doubts, this could lead to a short-term cancellation. Or the event will officially be downgraded to a show fight.
Some special rules already apply, which are primarily intended to protect Tyson’s health. Boxing only takes place over eight rounds instead of twelve, each of which is only two minutes long. Tyson diligently posts pictures and videos of himself training on his social media channels. The body is well trained, the punches are powerful, the movements are smooth. At his side is again trainer Rafael Cordeiro, who had already looked after him in the show fight against Roy Jones Junior in 2020.
Influencers as opponents
And what makes Jake Paul so interesting for Netflix as a Tyson opponent? His follower numbers. He is followed by 27 million fans on Instagram and 20.8 million on YouTube. The American, whose birth Tyson already had twelve professional years under his belt, began his career on social media as an influencer and has only been in the ring since 2020. He didn’t make much of an impression in his ten fights.
“I’ll be the new face of boxing,” Paul said: “I’ll teach Mike Tyson how to box.”
Tyson might just smile wearily at such presumptuous statements. The man has experienced everything in boxing. Becoming the youngest heavyweight world champion in history as a 20-year-old. The golden years as a champion.
The humiliation after defeats like in 1990 against the blatant outsider Buster Douglas or failures like in the “Bite Fight” in 1997 against Evander Holyfield. And also the deep fall as an addict and criminal.
But Mike Tyson always got back up. “In boxing they say: A moving target is hard to hit. And that also applies to life,” he said in the Netflix documentary.
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