UFC legend Randy Couture believes Mike Tyson wants to 'straighten out' the issue of YouTubers taking to boxing when he fights Jake Paul later this year.
It was recently confirmed the duo would be battling for supremacy on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Many have criticised Tyson and Paul for agreeing to fight, especially due to the huge 30-year age gap between the two fighters.
More and more YouTubers like Paul, including his brother Logan Paul and British star KSI, have opted to turn to boxing over the years.
Mike Tyson has 'a little more at stake' than Jake Paul ahead of their fight in July
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And UFC legend Couture, speaking on talkSPORT, is intrigued to see how things play out.
“Even at 58 [Tyson is currently 57, and will be 58 by fight night], Mike is as explosive as he ever was and Mike’s firing on all cylinders now," he said.
"I think he’s going to be very tough to deal with for Jake, but it’s going to be interesting.”
The former UFC star then expressed a belief that Tyson was fighting because he wants to show YouTubers are out of their depth.
“I think there’s a little more at stake here for Mike," he added.
"I think Mike sees some of these crossover fights and what’s going on, and how that’s affecting boxing and people’s perception of boxing.
"If you take him at his word, he wants to kind of straighten some of that rhetoric out.
“He’s saying ‘Hey this isn’t as easy as Jake Paul is making it look’ – he’s fighting for boxing in many ways, against a YouTuber and social media guy who has made his way up.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how that fight unfolds.
“Watching the training footage of Mike Tyson, you have flashbacks to him in his prime and that’s pretty scary, pretty remarkable.”
Tyson will be 58 by the time the fight takes place.
But recent footage has shown the boxing icon looking as formidable as ever while training in the gym.
In the years since hanging up his gloves, Tyson has built a huge cannabis empire.
Yet while he's become a poster boy for marijuana over in the United States, the 57-year-old has opted to give up smoking as the battle approaches.
Not that he's happy about it, however.
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“Right now, I’m living my life disciplined: it’s been six weeks that I haven’t gotten high or had sex," he told Forbes.
“I haven’t done that since I was a little kid.
“I hate not being able to smoke but I’m doing it like I love it; I hate not being able to sleep with my wife but I'm doing it like I love it.”
Tyson also admitted he was surprised to be the face of marijuana as an 'uneducated guy', too.
“Why did God, the universe, whatever we believe, why am I the face of it?” he said.
Mike Tyson has given up cannabis as he prepares for his fight with Jake Paul
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“An uneducated guy, Mike Tyson, why am I the face of cannabis and psychedelics? Why me?
"I can’t even spell cannabis and psychedelics.”
