Mike Tyson has confirmed his bout with Jake Paul will be an exhibition, as he surprisingly claimed he is currently “scared to death” about returning to the ring.
It was announced last month that Tyson would take on Paul this summer in a shock crossover bout on July 20, at the 80,000-seater AT&T Stadium in Texas.
There was initially no confirmation as to whether it would be professionally sanctioned, though Paul’s business partner Nakisa Bidarian dismissed claims that the pair would wear headguards in the ring.
Reports in recent days have suggested that the fighters will use 16-ounce gloves, rather than the 10-ounce gloves typically used, while there will be no judges to score the two-minute rounds. There is not expected to be a winner declared unless there is a knockout.
Tyson has now confirmed that this summer’s bout will officially be an exhibition, though insisted it will still be a serious fight.
“This is called an exhibition, but if you look up exhibition, you will not see any of the laws we're fighting under,” Tyson told Fox News. “This is a fight.”
He added: “I don't think he's faster than me. I've seen a YouTube video of him at 16 doing weird dancing. That's not the guy I'm fighting.
“This is a guy who's going to try and hurt me, which I'm accustomed to, and he's going to be greatly mistaken.”
Tyson will be 58 when he faces Paul this summer, with this his first exhibition since his bout with Roy Jones Jr in November 2020. Paul was on the undercard that night, stopping former basketball player Nate Robinson in his second professional boxing fight.
Paul now has a 9-1 record, though those victories have primarily come against ex-MMA stars and low-level boxers, and he was beaten last year when stepping up to fight Tommy Fury in Saudi Arabia.
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It is almost 20 years since Tyson’s professional career came to an end, and the former undisputed heavyweight admitted there are, for now, some nerves as he prepares to lace up the gloves once again.
“Right now, I'm scared to death,” Tyson said.
“As the fight gets closer, the less nervous I become because it's reality, and in reality I'm invincible.”
