By Abu Onyiani
When news first broke of an almost geriatric Mike Tyson’s intention to fight social media sensation and boxer Jake Paul, a young man in his physical prime, many thought it was a joke taken too far. As time went on, and seeing the seriousness of both parties, many began to describe the bout as an unserious match like MMA crossing over to fight boxers for the money.
Social media conspiracy theorists were given a content generating topic, and for months they screamed with reckless abandon about a scripted fight. It didn’t help Tyson and Jake when Tyson pulled out of their July 20th fight in May after and Ulcer Flare up.
The huge fight purse also exacerbated the conspiracy theories as we repeated heard it was scripted for either Tyson or Jake to throw the fight, depending on which version you were listening to.
I had my doubts about Tyson, because while he may still possess knockout power and a cat’s reflexes, I knew his legs would be gone, and a person without legs is handicapped in combat sports.
I first heard about legs from erstwhile Manchester United Coach and Legend Ole Gunnar Solksjear in an interview a few years ago. If I remember correctly, he was showed videos of his career highlights and he jokingly remarked that he could no longer do those things because his legs are gone. I got interested in what he said, researched and discovered that athletes in sports that require mobility are often forced to retire because of their legs.
When Tyson began his ring walk, my fears were immediately confirmed when he wore a compression sleeve on his right knee. While some have ascribed this to either a knee injury or as a preventative measure against a knee injury, I knew he had lost the match. Against a younger opponent with similar power but who could shuffle, Tyson stood almost no chance.
I would have said zero chance but boxing is a sport where a single punch in the last second can quickly undo all the good work of 12 rounds. Yes, a single well timed overhand, underhand, hook, or uppercut can send you to sleep.
That was all boxing fans around the world hoped for from the man christened as the baddest man on the planet.
For a 58 year old, Tyson fought well, showing he can take a punch and return one too. His guard was also up at all times, and was spotted biting his gloves on numerous occasions. At the end of the match, he described it as a habit, “A Biting Sensation”.
Jake on the other hand was heavily lambasted by pundits who believed he should be fighting his age mates who are serious title contenders.
Although, neither Tyson nor his camp has stated what he earned, industry experts put it at 20 million dollars, a ridiculous amount most humans will not earn till they die.
I joking told my mother that we should start preparing her 97-years-old mother for a huge pay fight like this, and as if forgetting she is my ma, she said I should leave her mother alone and send mine to the ring.
A few seconds later, I saw a Facebook comment asking Jake Paul to go dig up Mohammed Ali’s bones and fight him since he is only interested in fighting with his ancestors.
Leave a Reply