LAS VEGAS — Even at age 58, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson isn’t expecting to work overtime in a boxing ring.
Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) will face Jake Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) on Nov. 15 in his first professional boxing match in nearly two decades and doesn’t expect the fight to go the distance — as long as “The Problem Child” doesn’t run from him.
“If I don’t have to catch him, you can expect a Round 1 knockout,” Tyson said at a news conference to announce his collaboration with LF*GO! energy pouches. “But I may have to catch him because I anticipate this guy running from me.”
The highly anticipated fight that pits the boxing legend against a YouTuber-turned-prizefighter will be streamed live on Netflix and takes place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Tyson hasn’t won a professional boxing match since stopping Clifford Etienne in February 2003. He suffered back-to-back stoppage losses to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride before calling it a career in 2005 at age 38. Although it has been nearly 20 years since his last fight, Tyson said he feels fantastic heading into this boxing match because his personal life has settled down and is far different from his tumultuous time as a heavyweight champion.
“When I was fighting professionally, I was too stressed out,” Tyson said. “I never had a chance to relax or enjoy my championships because everything was coming at me. There were lawsuits and divorces. I never enjoyed myself as a human being. This is a moment in time when I can enjoy myself as a human being. I have better life skills now than I did while fighting.”
When asked what excites him about coming back and facing an opponent 31 years his junior, Tyson expressed his excitement to compete again and said the allure of competing at a football stadium was too good to pass up.
“I kind of dig being seen by 80,000 people,” he said.