Mike Tyson and current WBC heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury are in Saudi Arabia this weekend for the boxing match between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury. The pair of heavyweight boxing legends were captured enjoying a celebration party ahead of today’s boxing match.
The pair can be seen dancing and wielding swords alongside fellow heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora and several Saudi Arabian princes.
The boxing match between Tommy Fury (Tyson Fury’s younger brother) and Jake Paul has been a long time coming. The bout was organized several times in the past but would inevitably collapse due to injuries, visa issues, and other reasons.
However, both fighters made the scheduled weight of 184 lbs, and the bout seems set to take place. Tyson Fury was recently interviewed by talkSPORT Boxing, and the heavyweight champion shared the following prediction:
“I can just smell the fear [on Jake Paul]. He’s rattling, he’s rattling like a little b***h and he’s gonna get knocked out tomorrow.” [Tommy Fury] has been knocking out everybody [in sparring] and he’ll knock Jake Paul out tomorrow as well… Tommy knocks him out cold.”
Watch the interview below:
Mike Tyson explains why the business of boxing prevents the best fights from happening
Mike Tyson famously accused boxing promoter Don King of stealing millions of dollars from him in 1998. The former heavyweight champion recently explained why the boxing business doesn’t allow the best fights to be made.
Since MMA has risen in popularity, comparisons between the world of MMA and the world of boxing have been drawn.
According to many, one thing that MMA does consistently better than boxing is organizing the biggest fights between the best fighters. Look at UFC 284, for example, where No.1 and No.2 pound-for-pound fighters Alexander Volkanovski and Islam Makhahcev went to war in their prime fighting years.
Mike Tyson appeared in front of fans in Saudi Arabia this weekend ahead of Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury and explained why promoters often assume control of a fighter. Due to the various organizations and promotions that control boxing, the best fighters seldom end up facing the other best fighters in their weight divisions, as organizations look out for their best interests.
Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford, undoubtedly the two best welterweight boxers in the world, have been in talks to fight for several years. But the possibility of the fight materializing has grown smaller over time, as both parties blame one another for negotiation difficulties. During a press conference, Mike Tyson was asked if the business of boxing prevents the best fights from happening, to which he replied:
“Why should they have your cheque, and pay you, when you gave him the job of being your promoter? Everybody works for the fighter, but everybody thinks the fighter works for them. The fighter is the boss.”
Watch the video below: