Mike Tyson has issued a fresh warning to Jake Paul, as he continues to build towards this summer’s crossover bout with Jake Paul.
The former undisputed heavyweight world champion will be 58 by the time he takes to the ring at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on July 24, for an exhibition bout streamed on Netflix.
Tyson has posted a number of clips on social media of him hitting pads in recent weeks, while the latest clip, showing him sprinting indoors, is captioned: “I’m coming for you.”
It is nearly 20 years since Tyson’s last professional bout, a defeat to Kevin McBride in 2005, and his most recent exhibition fight came in November 2020 against Roy Jones Jr.
Paul was on the undercard that night, stopping Nate Robinson for his second professional victory, and he now holds a 9-1 record, with that defeat coming against Tommy Fury last year.
While Paul has suggested there is a desire from both camps for July’s fight to be as a professional bout, Tyson recently confirmed that it will officially be an exhibition.
“This is called an exhibition, but if you look up exhibition, you will not see any of the laws we're fighting under,” Tyson told Fox News. “This is a fight.”
He added: “I don't think he's faster than me. I've seen a YouTube video of him at 16 doing weird dancing. That's not the guy I'm fighting.
“This is a guy who's going to try and hurt me, which I'm accustomed to, and he's going to be greatly mistaken.”
No clarity on the rules of the bout has yet been provided, though reports have suggested that there could be two-minute rounds and 16oz gloves used.
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Paul has insisted there will not be “big gloves” worn, as he revealed conversations will take place with the Texas commission over sanctioning a professional fight.
“Mike and I want this to be a pro fight with full face shots,” Paul said.
“We are submitting that request to the commission. It’s an all-out war. There have been all these fake videos about not being able to hit each other, big gloves, all of that stuff, and it’s all, as [Donald] Trump would say, fake news.”