UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier said Jake Paul is facing a “lose-lose situation” in his upcoming boxing match with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
Cormier argued on his “Funky and the Champ” YouTube show this week that there’s nothing to gain for Paul in beating a man 31 years his senior. And if Paul should lose to Tyson, Cormier said his career would be “over.”
Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, are scheduled for a Nov. 15 bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Their original July 20 bout was postponed after Tyson had a health scare on a cross-country flight.
Tyson’s last professional bout was in June 2005. He most recently fought in an exhibition in November 2020.
“I think it’s a lose-lose for Jake Paul, because if you beat up Mike Tyson, everybody loves Mike Tyson,” said Cormier, a former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion.
“What if Mike knocks him out, though? Then it’s over,” Cormier continued. “Everything’s done. It would be an all-time backfire. Nothing’s ever been done like that in the history of the sport if he gets knocked out.”
Tyson was 50-6 with 44 knockouts in a celebrated boxing career when he was the undisputed heavyweight champion from 1987-90. He began his career 19-0, winning each bout by KO — 12 of them in the first round.
Paul, a YouTube personality who turned to boxing in 2018, is 10-1 as a fighter with seven knockouts.
The Tyson-Paul bout will consist of eight two-minute rounds, instead of the regulation three-minute rounds. Also, each fighter will use 14-ounce gloves instead of the standard 10 ounces to limit punching power.
–Field Level Media
