Heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson has renewed hope in his bid to get licensed as a professional boxer at 57 for his clash with Jake Paul on July 20.
WBN predicted Tyson would face disappointment due to his age as he turns 58 a short time before the Netflix event. However, looking at a recent event WBN covered back in December, there’s a chance Tyson could get the green light.
Step forward, Scot England. The now-59-year-old Tennessee native made his boxing debut as a welterweight at the back end of last year. Even though the Tennessee Athletic Commission granted his license, England fought in Texas at 58, the same age Tyson will be when the first bell goes. This occurrence should strongly indicate that Tyson may get his wish to have a 57th professional contest on his CV. His current record stands at 50-6. It has remained that way for the last nineteen years.
But that could change against Jake Paul, who is also a licensed professional for what essentially is an exhibition match-up.
Despite England being knocked out in 47 seconds by Jashawn Hunter and immediately being suspended by the Tennessee board indefinitely, the fact he was granted a license in the first place is a good sign for ‘Iron’ Mike.
Asking the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for another update recently, representative Tela Mange exclusively told World Boxing News: “We still have not received a card from the promoter for that particular fight, so no decisions have been made yet about whether the Tyson vs Paul event will be an exhibition or professional contest.”
Katie Taylor vs Amanda Serrano 2 bolsters the card as the co-feature, which should also favor Tyson when he states his case to the board.
On Taylor vs Serrano 2, Mange added: “Yes, we’ve received that, and we’re currently reviewing that one.”
Tyson vs Paul was the talk of the sport until Ryan Garcia upset Devin Haney over the weekend. Tyson was at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and visited both fighters’ dressing rooms before the event.
The spotlight will eventually fall back on Tyson vs. Paul in a few weeks once Canelo Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia and Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk are in the books, given that it’s another month until the Gervonta Davis vs. Frank Martin event takes place in Las Vegas on June 15.
Should Tyson’s licensing confirmation come through in the meantime, that would be a massive milestone for any other Hall of Famers aiming to get back in the ring against a fighter half their age.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
