TYSON FURY has called Jake Paul’s fight with Mike Tyson “fantastic for boxing” despite the 30-year age gap.
The YouTuber-turned boxer and heavyweight icon are to collide in a controversial clash on July 20 in Texas.
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Tyson will be 58 by the time the fight for the ages comes around and nearly 20 years removed from his last professional bout.
So his comeback – which is not yet confirmed as a sanctioned fight or an exhibition – has come under criticism amid safety fears.
But heavyweight world champion Fury – named after the Baddest Man on The Planet – is all for it.
He told The Stomping Ground: “I think it’s fantastic for boxing.
“You’ve got a legend in Mike Tyson. You’ve got a YouTube boxer who’s come into the game and blew it up and he’s got millions of followers and millions of views and millions of eyes.
“Good, bad or indifferent. Some people love him, some people hate him.
“So, I think it’s a really good spectacle for boxing. Brings a lot of people to the game.
“And listen, who am I to say, ‘Oh, Mike Tyson shouldn’t be boxing or Jake Paul shouldn’t be boxing’, good luck to them.
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“They’re both gonna make what I call a s*** ton of money out of it. So, isn’t that what it’s about?”
Tyson retired in 2005 but did return in 2020 for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr, which ended in an eight-round draw.
Meanwhile Paul is 9-1 as a boxer who suffered his only defeat to Tyson’s brother Tommy in February 2023, but has won three since.
And he is hoping to put his pro record on the line when he takes on ring royalty in Iron Mike, in what will be Netflix’s first move into live boxing.
The bout will also be staged at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, where Canelo Alvarez beat Billy Joe Saunders in 2021.
Fury, 35, said: “It’s a great stadium.
“It’d be fantastic for the guys both getting paid, both gonna put on a show. I just don’t know what’s not to like.
“Oh, OK, the guy’s 57 years old, but he’s a former undisputed world heavyweight king and one guy plays computers for a living and he’s come to boxing about a year ago.
“So, pretty even match. From being a kid on the Disney Channel to fighting Mike Tyson. Who wouldn’t want to do that?”
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