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If you told me on December 31st, 2019 that Mike Tyson would be fighting on the same card as Jake Paul and Nate Robinson in 2020 I would have thought you were crazy; But that’s 2020 for you. After 15 long years “Iron” Mike Tyson makes his much-anticipated return to the ring to fight the former boxer of the decade of the 90’s Roy Jones Jr; whose 2004 single “Can’t Be Touched” was in everyone’s middle school highlight tape. The matchup between Tyson and Jones Jr would have been one of the best matchups and highly anticipated fights in the world… 15 years ago.
The fact we have a boxing match between YouTuber and verified douche Jake Paul and 3-time NBA dunk contest winner Nate Robinson is bewildering but also piques my curiosity. This fight came to be after beef between Paul and Antonio Brown arose and rumors swirled that the two would fight. But Brown is back play football (for now) and then Robinson stepped in. This six-round fight round fight between Paul and Robinson taking place on Triller (a social media app) and will be the second pro fight in Paul’s career. His first fight came against fellow Youtuber AnEsonGib in early 2020 and was a first-round stoppage. Some say or his first pro fight Paul looked good, but he fought another guy who makes videos and does not box or play sports for a living. AnEsonGib clearly didn’t know what he was doping and was crouching the whole fight, which leads to fatigue in his legs, and him falling several times while getting punched. In the fight against Robinson, the 23-year-old Paul will look to use his size advantage as he stands at 6’1” with a 76-inch reach. In his previous fights, he looked to have a good jab that he uses to set up heavier punches and maintain his distance. He said he wants a first-round KO and is looking to finish Robinson. I do not know why the former Vine star and certified douche is so confident he can KO a former pro-athlete in one round but I guess we’ll see.
Nate Robinson is 36 years old and stands at a modest 5’9” meaning he has a significant size disadvantage. However, he even referred to himself as a top tier athlete and will look to use that to his advantage. Robinson who we all know is an NBA vet, he is also a former D1 football player for Washington University where he played defensive back. He will look to use his quickness to give him opportunities to piece apart Paul with well-placed jabs. He does not look bad in the training videos he has posted, and has displayed good movement, and kept his guard high all while engaging his hips fluidly on his punches. To win this fight he needs to find a way inside the pocket and use his athleticism and speed of his jabs to create angles and land shots against Paul. If there is one thing Paul knows how to do is get views as he has over 20 million subscribers on YouTube and 13.6 million followers on social media.
I believe that despite being an underdog, Nate Robinson will win this fight; He is right when he says he is a world-class athlete and has a muscled up frame that looks like he could still play in the NBA. I am sure he will look more natural in the ring and he will be able to pack more power behind his punches than people realize. D1 and pro-athletes just move different and are sued to the grind required for a fight, Paul most likely will not be in as good shape as Robinson. I am going, to be honest, I really hate Jake Paul and this could be biased because I hate his personality and dumb face but I hope he gets worked by Robinson, who’s representing us, short guys.
On to Mike Tyson and Roy Jones jr; The “match” taking place on November 28th on pay-per-view is an 8 round (normally 12) bout where each round is 2 minutes long (normally 3) in the Staples Center. I would be all for this fight if the California athletic commission didn’t ruin it. In the fight, there will be no KOs allowed, and if one fighter is cut during the bout, the match is over. The fact we can’t see two of arguably the greatest boxers of all time throw real punches turns this event into a glorified sparring match that is a clear money grab based on name value.
Dana White is just as confused as the rest of us and clearly wasn’t caught up to speed on the outrageous rules for this could have been a mega-fight, The president of the UFC does not know how the rules will be enforced and that there’s no way the boxers follow it. (Check it here)
That being said it should still be entertaining with the flash of Jones Jr and the absolute wildcard that Mike Tyson is. Jones is the smaller man here and will look to use his quickness to win this fight. HE has a significant speed advantage with his amazing lateral movement. He keeps his hands low but with that lateral movement, he can create angles to land strikes and places them incredibly accurately, and has powerful hooks. Jones Jr fought only 2 years ago and might still be fresh enough in the sport to only lose a few steps compared to Tyson who has been out forever a decade. However, Jones is known to showboat and boast throughout each match, being dubbed “Captain Hook” based on his unreal hook mentioned before, this is not what you want to do against Mike Tyson.
Tyson, who’s been quite active on social media has posted a lot of his training videos and has looked really good. He has shown tremendous head movement and his powerful hands reminiscent of his heyday, reminds me that even at 54 years old he would still fold me like a lawn chair. Tyson has a reach of 71 inches, which is a 3-inch disadvantage (which is a lot to some people), and will look to get in close to his opponent. He will want to close the distance on Jones early as he will want to unleash his heavy hands and show off his deadly hook of his own. If Jones is going to dance around the ring, I see this getting Tyson mad and will not let Jones dance out of danger if caught. He will want to keep him in close to avoid getting angled on to get pieced apart by his quicker opponent. Tyson is so dangerous in tight space that if he and Jones Jr start exchanging blows it will end very quickly in Tyson’s favor. Even though he hasn’t had a victory since his 2003 KO over Clifford Etienne; Tyson has talked about fighting the likes of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, leading me to believe he is taking this very seriously and will want to put on a show to prove “The Baddest Man on the Planet” has still got it.
I’m not even sure if I can call a winner in this match. There is so little to judge this from and the people are not quite getting what they want to see. If there is no KOs I’m not sure what is going to happen. This plays more in Jones Jr’s favor as he is quicker and more accurate with his punches and will look to use his lateral movement to his advantage and piece apart Tyson. I think he will win by decision unless Tyson ignores the rules and tears Jones’ head off, which is what we’d all love to see.
But that being said according to SportBible, there can be no winner: “California State Athletic Commission executive director Andy Forster has warned that the fight will be stopped if either man gets a cut, saying, "Tyson and Jones Jr. won't be wearing headgear for the fight. They'll be lacing up 12-ounce gloves and there won't be any judges present at the fight to score the action. So, technically, there won't be a winner unless a knockout somehow occurs, or either fighter is deemed unfit to continue”.
Am I disappointed? Yes, I grew up hearing about what a legend and dangerous man Mike Tyson was in the ring (and out of it), and Roy Jones Jr is one of the quickest and craftiest boxers of his time. I want to see a real fight damn it. I do understand that there is a risk to people of this age getting in the ring; the two fighters have a combined age of 105, but still, this fight costs money, give the people a show!
Will I watch it? Absolutely, I feel obligated to watch Tyson fight live once in my lifetime.
Will I pay for this fight? I’m unsure if I can disclose that, but it will be on.
-Bastarache