Home » Mike Tyson addresses ‘jealous’ critics ahead of Jake Paul fight

Mike Tyson addresses ‘jealous’ critics ahead of Jake Paul fight

Mike Tyson addressed his critics regarding his boxing return against Jake Paul, saying everyone was ‘jealous’ of him.

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Tyson claps back at ‘jealous’ critics

Tyson, who turns 58 this June, will face the 27-year-old Paul on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, streamed live on Netflix.

Despite concerns about absorbing punishment against the younger Paul, Tyson insists that his detractors are just “jealous” of him.

“I’’m 58 and what? I’m getting billions of views from just talking to somebody about fighting,” Tyson told Reuters.

“Everybody, even most of the athletes, they’re jealous. That’s whack. … I say in your prime you couldn’t draw a million people, man. What are you talking – you couldn’t sell out an arena. Who at 58 could sell out an 80,000-seat arena?”

Still a huge draw

“Iron Mike,” who retired from professional boxing in 2005, owns a record of 50 wins and 6 losses.

The former heavyweight champion returned to the ring in 2020 for an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr.

Meanwhile, Paul holds a 9-1 record with six knockouts since turning pro in 2020.

“Why do you think he wants to fight me and not anybody else?” Tyson said.

“Everybody wants to fight him – all the boxers want to fight him. But if he fought them, the only people that will come are the people that like him.”

Tyson knows his name still carries commercial appeal, and he remains a huge draw despite his prime days being long gone.

“The other guys, their parents might not even come watch them,” Tyson said. “That’s just keeping it real. They’re too boring for their children to watch. It’s like watching grass grow.”