Mike Tyson has nicknamed his boxing showdown against Jake Paul ‘Jake’s wake’ as they prepare to go to war next month.
Ring legend Tyson and YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul collide at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on 15 November with their fight to be streamed globally on Netflix.
31 years in age separate the pair with ‘Iron Mike’ long retired from professional boxing. The former heavyweight champion hung up his gloves in 2005 having lost three of his last four fights with Paul currently on a run of 10 wins in 11.
Tyson did return to the ring for an exhibition bout with fellow boxing great Roy Jones Jr in November 2020.
While there were fears over his health heading into this latest fight with their original July date postponed, the 58-year-old retuned to training a month later and has been stepping things up in the gym ever since.
Tyson has shared snippets of brutal training footage, including one clip him flooring a sparring partner with a vicious left hook.
In a latest clip shared this week, Tyson captioned it: ‘Jake’s wake in 20 days.’ In the clip, he is joined by another great of the sport in Gene Kilroy, Muhammad Ali’s former manager who was left stunned by the former champion’s preparations.
‘This is the strongest I’ve ever seen you,’ Kilroy said, watching Tyson being put through his paces.
‘And I’ve known you since you were 13. This impresses the s**t out of me. Nothing impresses me.
‘I’m going to tell you the truth. I don’t lie. I was worried about him travelling here, travelling there. I can sleep now at night. This is great.
‘I’m proud of you, Mike. I’m proud of you. It’s a new generation. You done more workouts than what I’ve seen you do the whole time you fought Lennox Lewis. Am I right or wrong?’
‘Tyson replied: ‘Different era brother. It’s a whole new ball game.’