He can be a man of few words, but they all pack a punch.
There's been a lot of opinions shared about Mike Tyson and Jake Paul's upcoming boxing match set for Netflix, and a number of them are centered around the specifics of the fight. Paul already dismissed the fake rules circulating on the bout, but even with the official stipulations locked in, some wonder if two-minute rounds are truly worthy of a professionally sanctioned match. Tyson revealed why he requested that time per round, and one of his comments sent a few chills down my spine.
As viewers with Netflix subscriptions prepare to stream Tyson vs. Paul this summer, both fighters are doing their part to promote it, with a recent press conference in New York as the latest push. When asked about the shorter round times compared to the standard three-minute round of a professional boxing match, Iron Mike explained why he felt two-minute rounds were beneficial for all parties involved, audiences included, saying:
I wanted the shorter rounds because I wanted more action. If we only have two minutes, we'll fight more.
Mike Tyson doesn't sound interested in a lot of dancing around and guarding. He's looking to throw hands and keep the action moving through eight rounds. That's sixteen total minutes of fighting with breaks between rounds, assuming it actually goes the distance. Based on Tyson's fight videos so far, he's planning on putting his foot on the gas. That may be a big ask for a 57-year-old fighter taking on someone thirty years younger, so shorter rounds will help him maintain stamina.
If Tyson is worried about being gassed out and unable to best Jake Paul, he certainly wasn't showing it in the press conference. The veteran fighter and former champion was asked if his intention was to "end" the young fighter. In classic cold-blooded fashion, Tyson dropped this show-stopping quasi-threat:
Once he’s in that ring, he has to fight like his life depends on it, because it will be.
While Mike Tyson has played around in recent years and done surprising athlete cameos in movies like The Hangover, he still has that killer instinct as a fighter. Jake Paul seems to understand that well enough, as recent reports said the fighter gained about forty pounds as part of his training for the upcoming boxing match. Paul's added weight was noticeable in the pre-fight staredown after the press conference, too, which can be seen below:
I love that Jake Paul looks like a tank in that video, with Mike Tyson playfully jabbing him in the ribs, completely unserious about it all. It's hard to say if he truly isn't intimidated at all in a possibly overconfident way, or if it's all for show. Suffice it to say, there are many fans curious to see if the legend can take out Paul, and what it means for the younger brawler if he can't beat someone decades older than him.
Sometimes it's bizarre to think how ten years ago we would've never believed a kid who became famous with online pranks, dances, and trolling would one day be fighting one of the most legendary boxers of all time. We're certainly in a new era for professional boxing, and for streaming as well as it continues to make big jumps into the world of sports.
