A serious head injury to Mike Tyson in his fight against Jake Paul could lead to calls for boxing to be BANNED, former world champion Paulie Malignaggi fears.
The scheduled fight between Tyson and Paul has caused controversy due to the 31-year age gap between the two - the biggest in the history of professional boxing.
Tyson recently turned 58 years old while Paul is said to be in his prime years at the age of 27.
Despite the amount of concerns expressed over the fight, it is set to be sanctioned as a professional fight.
Mike Tyson recently turned 58 years of age
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It will be Tyson's first professional boxing match since losing to Kevin McBridge in 2005.
The pair were originally set to step into the ring this summer before Tyson was forced to postpone after a health scare on a plane.
Former IBF super-lightweight world champion Malignaggi fears the repercussions of the fight in November could be severe for the entire sport.
"Head blows from young, strong guys at Mike’s age aren’t good. When you're younger, you can handle hits better," he said.
"When you're older, your body isn’t made for that kind of damage anymore. Things could go badly wrong.
"If something like that happened, people would be calling for the sport to be banned.
"Personally, I don’t think his fight with Jake Paul should happen.
"He’ll be 58 years old by then. 58 is still 58.
Jake Paul is 31 years younger than Mike Tyson
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"We live in a generation that doesn’t understand ageing is a real thing.
"You can show highlights of Mike from the 80s, but the guy stepping into the ring won’t be that same Mike Tyson."
The 58-year-old has repeatedly hit back at concerns over his age and said recently that he hopes to change the narrative with his fight against Paul.
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Paulie Malignaggi fears the repercussions for boxing could be severe
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"I want to change biology, I want to change the way people think about age," he said.
"People think that as you get older you become weaker, you become less physically active at a high level.
"It's all psychological. If you believe you feel bad and you feel old - then you feel bad and old.
"If you believe feel great, you feel great. It's all about what we see about ourselves."