World Boxing News gained the reaction of the World Boxing Organization to Mike Tyson returning to the sport at 58.
Tyson, who never held a WBO title during his reign as heavyweight champion, has signed a deal to face a YouTuber on July 20. The event is scheduled to be broadcast on Netflix from Texas, subject to approval.
Question marks over whether Tyson will be licensed to fight have raised their heads in recent days. However, Tyson’s rival Evander Holyfield was approved when he was 58, leaving hope for the content.
Asked for his opinion, WBO President Paco Valcarcel moved to distance his organization from the fight. At the same time, Paco highlighted the dangers the boxing legend is undertaking by facing an opponent who is only 27.
“Firstly, I want to say that has nothing to do with the organization. Secondly, any fighter physically fit to fight and able to receive approval [supporting medical evidence] from licensed medical doctors can proceed to fight,” Valcarcel exclusively told World Boxing News. “However, it is evident that the older you are, the higher the physical risks entailed in a fight, including permanent damage.”
Details and rules for the fight against wannabe boxer Jake Paul remain sketchy. Nothing has been confirmed regarding whether the bout will be an exhibition or a bonafide pro event. That decision will come down to the Texas Commission as the hosts at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.
Agreements on whether to ban knockouts, if they exist, will undoubtedly be kept under wraps despite Tyson and Paul talking up the possibility.
Approaching his sixties, Tyson won’t have the punch resistance he had in his prime, that’s for sure. However, he didn’t have any towards the end of his professional career either.
‘Iron’ Mike was knocked out in 2004 and 2005 against also-ran opponents Danny Williams and Kevin McBride. Later in his career, Tyson admitted to taking recreational drugs leading up to and being under the influence during those two contests.
It’s hard to imagine that twenty years later, Tyson will have regained any of that ability to take a punch. Even when returning for an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, both men were in their fifties and would have lost equal measures of power.
Much of that encounter was also spent clinching, giving the legends respite for long spells. That won’t happen with Paul, who will be going for the clout of knocking Mike Tyson out unless ordered otherwise in the fight stipulations.
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