Mike Tyson's age 'has started to show through' as fears expressed Jake Paul fight will be cancelled
Boxing news: Dan Hardy feels Mike Tyson's age 'has started to show through' ahead of his bout with Jake Paul
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Mike Tyson's age has 'started to show through' and his fight with Jake Paul could be cancelled at the last minute.
That's according to former UFC star Dan Hardy, who has opened up on next month's blockbuster showdown.
The fight between the two men is a controversial one, especially due to the huge 31-year age gap between the two men.
Tyson retired from professional boxing back in 2005 but insists he can challenge Paul, who has won 10 of his 11 fights so far.
Boxing news: Dan Hardy feels Mike Tyson's age 'has started to show through' ahead of his bout with Jake PaulGETTYHardy, speaking to BloodyElbow.com, believes Tyson isn't the fighter he once was.
And he also fears the veteran's age is 'starting to show through', despite the boxing icon looking formidable in footage shared on social media.
"I'm still not mad about it to be honest," he said.
"I’m a big Mike Tyson fan as many combat sports people are.
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"You know, time always catches up with us and Mike Tyson isn’t the fighter he was even a couple of years ago.
“Even when he fought Roy Jones Jr [in 2020]. I thought he looked good, but in the last couple of years, I feel like his age has really started to show through.
“Like, he’s still a dangerous man in his own mind and you would want to upset the guy, that’s for sure.
“In a boxing contest where you’re in with someone who is in their 20s, over 200lbs and spending all day every day working on his boxing… What none of us want to see is Mike Tyson go crashing to the canvas and Jake Paul celebrating.”
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Hardy then expressed a belief that the fight could be cancelled.
It has already been pushed back once after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare up earlier in the year.
And the former MMA star thinks it may eventually dawn on Paul that fighting a 58-year-old, at the age of 27, is bad for his 'brand'.
"As much as I’m enjoying Jake Paul as a phenomenon in combat sports, I feel like beating up Mike Tyson would not do great things for his brand," he continued.
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Boxing news: Dan Hardy feels the upcoming fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul could be cancelled at the last minute
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“I honestly think a lot of the fun poking and fat suits and stuff that we are seeing now is actually working against him a little bit because Mike Tyson is held in such high regard.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if that fight falls away and Mike is somewhat protected by the people around him because I do think that would be worth considering for them.
“There’s so many people Jake Paul can fight, he doesn’t need to be fighting Mike Tyson.
Boxing news: Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are on course to lock horns on November 15
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"If he was calling him out 10 years ago, 15 years ago, fair enough.
“This version of Mike is not the person who represents who Mike Tyson was when he was at the top of the sport.”
Until anything is announced, however, the showdown will go ahead as normal.