Mike Tyson has slammed critics of his upcoming fight with Jake Paul, branding them 'jealous'.
It was announced last month that the two men would be fighting on July 20, with Netflix set to stream the Texas tussle to millions around the world.
Many have been quick to condemn the pair, however, due to their huge 30-year age gap.
Paul is 27, while Tyson will be 58 by the time the showdown takes place at the AT&T Stadium.
Boxing news: Mike Tyson has blasted back at critics ahead of his fight with Jake Paul
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Ricky Hatton has claimed boxing icons will be 'turning in their graves' over the prospect of the fight.
Eddie Hearn has said he's 'sad' about the showdown, while Barry McGuigan has claimed Tyson 'shouldn't be near a ring' at his age.
But Tyson has now blasted his critics while speaking to Reuters, insisting the negativity all stems from jealousy.
"I'm 58 and what? I'm getting billions of views from just talking to somebody about fighting," he said.
"Everybody, even most of the athletes, they're jealous, that's whack.
"I say in your prime you couldn't draw a million people, man.
"What are you talking, you couldn't sell out arena. Who at 58 could sell out an 80,000-seat arena?
"Why you think he wants to fight me and not anybody else? Everybody wants to fight him, all the boxers want to fight him.
"But if he fought them the only people that will come are the people that like him.
"The other guys, their parents might not even come watch them. That's just keeping it real.
"They're too boring for their children to watch, it's like watching grass grow."
It is currently unclear if the fight will be a professional or exhibition match.
Over the weekend there were suggestions it would be the latter, with a list of rules seemingly emerging.
Those claims have since been shut down by Paul's manager, however, who branded them as 'fake news'.
Tyson last fought against Roy Jones Jr back in 2020.
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Boxing news: Mike Tyson will be 58 by the time he goes up against Jake Paul
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And Jones Jr, speaking to The Lunch Club, has claimed the showdown has been 'upgraded' and will be a professional bout.
“The Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight is not an exhibition, I’ve heard it’s been upgraded to a fight," he said.
"If it’s a fight, it’s very intriguing how it may turn out because Jake Paul has gotten a lot better as a boxer over the days but Mike Tyson even at 58 or however old he is, is still Mike Tyson.
"When I boxed him, he still punched like Mike Tyson.
"If he hits anybody square on the chin it’s going to be problematic, I don’t care who it is.
Boxing news: Jake Paul and Mike Tyson have faced criticism for their fight due to their huge age gap
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"I like Jake Paul, he’s a good guy and he’s doing good with his boxing stuff.
"I think it’s a good promotional situation for him and Mike, they should go really good numbers especially having upgraded to a real fight.
"If Mike comes out and does what Mike normally does, then it’s going to be a tough situation for Jake.
"If Jake can stay away from him for four or five rounds, then Jake has a chance but he’s going to have to do a lot of manoeuvring to stay away from him."
