Heavyweight brute Mike Tyson sought out Jake Paul for an age-vs-youth battle, not the other way around, as many suggested.
Tyson faces Jake Paul in November, provided the former world champion gets medical clearance. Many are predicting a massacre of the YouTuber.
But the consensus was Paul sought Tyson’s name for clout, which is far from what happened, according to his business partner Nakisa Bidarian.
“Jake is fighting on Netflix and various potential opponents to look at,” Bidarian told The MMA Hour. “Honestly, Tyson really happened because his team approached me and said we would like to fight Jake Paul.
“He is an opportunity that we have, and we said ‘timeout’ – let’s come back to it with an opportunity that we have that I think makes a lot more sense. That was late 2023.”
Asked what he says to those who believe Paul v Tyson shouldn’t happen after the latter suffered a stomach ulcer flare-up, he added, “Anyone can get an ulcer or injuries. Look at Connor McGregor. He is thirty-six years old and has been rehabbing for three years. Then, the fight [UFC in July] gets postponed.”
On why the fight should happen, he responded, “Mike Tyson and Jake Paul make sense because of their age from my perspective. If Mike was in his early thirties, given Jake’s experience, there is no sense that fight age is the equalizing factor.
“When you look at when Mike Tyson was twenty-seven, he was 40-1. Jake Paul is twenty-seven, and he is 9-1. Jake Paul has been a professional for four years. Mike Tyson, at that point, was a professional for fourteen years, so what makes this fight exciting? And what makes it real is that there is a chance that either guy can lose.
“If you actually talk to the vast majority of the public from the polls we have done, everyone thinks that Mike Tyson is going to knock out Jack Paul. So I think as long as he had a clean bill of health, which he did, and he one hundred percent will if we move forward with November 15th, which we plan to do, then of course that fight should happen.”
Nakisa Bidarian defends Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul from critics citing Tyson’s age as a reason for it not to happen.
“If Mike was in his early 30s, given Jake’s experience, there’s no sense to that fight. Age is the equalizing factor.”
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Furthermore, Paul faces Mike Perry this weekend on the original date for the Tyson fight. This was possible because Netflix stepped in and took the date.
“We partnered with Netflix on November 1st of last year, but then we focused on who is the right opponent. What is the right event?
“When the postponement happened with Mike, we did talk to Netflix about potentially staying on the same date and doing another opponent, but I think we all felt it was important for their entry into combat sports to do it in a massive cross-generational way. Which is what Jake and Tyson is. DAZN, thank god for DAZN in terms of boxing from my perspective.
“They are by far the most committed in the sport across every vertical of whatever the sport is. And they were very enthusiastic about putting on this fight,” he concluded.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
