Mike Tyson says he learnt he is “tougher” than he realized during his training camp to fight Jake Paul.
The 58-year-old former heavyweight world champion will return to the ring almost 20 years after his last professional fight, a loss to Kevin McBride back in 2005. He will take on the YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday, November 15.
With the fight just around the corner, Tyson knows the hard work is now done. And speaking at open workouts to kick off fight week, he admitted he initially wondered what he had signed up for before finding out about himself.
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Asked what he’s learned about himself in training, Tyson said: “That I’m tougher than I believed I was. Because I actually, when I agreed to this fight, I started training, I said, ‘what the f*** am I thinking of?
“And now I finished the the process, and the fight’s the party. All the hard work is done.”
Tyson admitted that “never in a million years” did he think he would ever be fighting Paul, who has a 10-1 record as a professional. H promised fans: “You won’t be disappointed”.
Paul, meanwhile, has immense confidence he will get the job done. He vowed to “outbox” the man once known as the “Baddest Man on the Planet” and kickstart his career in the process.
Tyson hit the pads at an open workout in Dallas on Tuesday (
Esther Lin /Most Valuable Promotions)
Paul declared: “I’m just blessed to be here. So grateful for all the fans that show up, and Dallas is going to be an amazing night on Friday. I’m just having fun, doing my thing. I feel really good. Sharp, powerful, explosive. It’s going to be a short night for Mike.”
“It’s not about how long you’ve been doing something, it’s about how good you do it. On Friday night, people are going to see me outbox the person that’s been doing it their whole life.
“Friday my dream comes true and my career starts. This is the beginning of an amazing journey. What I’ve done so far doesn’t matter – Friday night my career starts.
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