Mike Tyson back in the ring against Jake Paul after 20 years

Former heavyweight boxer Axel Schulz sees the return of former champion Mike Tyson for the fight against influencer Jake Paul as nothing but positive. “I think it’s sensational, it obviously helps the whole sport of boxing,” the 56-year-old told the German Press Agency, “because it brings attention to the sport again. That’s good for boxing worldwide.”

The 58-year-old Tyson duels with Paul, 31 years his junior, on Saturday night in Dallas. The fight will be broadcast live on the streaming service Netflix. Mainly to protect Tyson’s health, the fight is scheduled for just eight rounds of two minutes each. Heavier and therefore better padded gloves are also required.

“It’s a girls’ distance, so you can only speak of it as a show fight,” said Schulz. The ex-professional, who lost all three of his world championship fights, even believes: “It’s an agreed number. He won’t take Jake Paul apart, even though he could.”

Despite his advanced age, Tyson is far superior to the inexperienced challenger, said Schulz: “If he puts everything on one card in one round, then he would have to take him apart. The power that Mike has and the movements that he now also uses in training shows – you have no chance as someone who is fighting his twelfth fight.”

Schulz does not believe that Tyson is taking any health risks. “I think you can always get baked in two minutes.” Due to the former world champion’s attack of weakness during a flight and the consequences of a stomach ulcer, the fight originally planned for July had to be postponed to autumn.

Tyson last fought professionally in June 2005, but resumed boxing training years ago and returned to the ring for an exhibition fight against Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020. The eight-round fight ended in a draw.