DEONTAY WILDER fears Jake Paul could put Mike Tyson in a “COMA” and tarnish the boxing legend’s legacy.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer and the heavyweight icon will collide in a controversial showdown on July 20th in Arlington.
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Tyson will be 58 years old at the time of the fight and almost 20 YEARS removed from his last professional fight.
But he will put his illustrious record on the line against 9-1 Paul following news that he will be officially sanctioned.
There will be revised rules, with the pair fighting with gloves larger than 14 ounces as opposed to 10 ounces and over eight rounds, two rather than three minutes.
Still, former WBC world heavyweight champion Wilder, 38, criticized the Texas commission for giving the green light to sanction him.
He said Sports Betting Review: “I think it’s bad that the commission licensed Mike Tyson because he hasn’t acted in 20 years.
“So they shouldn’t license him just because of who he is, that’s how people get hurt, God forbid he gets hurt.
“People can be hit in the wrong place at the wrong time, there are many examples of people falling into a coma.
“It’s easy to do. He’s too old for that. At the end of the day, nobody gives a shit about Mike.
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“We can talk about the pros and cons, but at the end of the day, they don’t give a shit.
“I don’t think anyone cares about Mike because if they did they wouldn’t sanction the fight.
“They can say they did tests and everything, that’s fine, but as long as you’re willing to suffer the consequences if something bad goes wrong.”
Paul, 27, has been defeated just once in ten fights, losing a split decision to Tommy Fury, 25, in Saudi Arabia last year.
But he has won three since then, while Tyson was last in the ring for a 2020 exhibition with Roy Jones Jr that ended in a draw.
His boxing career officially ended in 2005 after dismal defeats to Danny Williams and Kevin McBride, who is now a tree surgeon.
But Wilder reckons losing to Paul, the prankster-turned-prizefighter, would be even more crushing than his last two defeats.
He said: “His power may not be completely gone, but you still need to set him up, his stamina needs to be a certain way, or it will look like a clown show.
“To be honest, I don’t want to see that. I don’t want to see one of my legends fight a YouTuber.
“If he goes in there and knocks Mike out, it will tarnish Mike’s reputation.
“I don’t want the last thing that reminds me of him to be him being knocked out by a YouTuber.
“The last thing you do is what people remember you for.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
