Boxing great Oscar De La Hoya criticised Jake Paul’s decision to fight Mike Tyson and expressed legitimate concern for the boxing legend’s wellbeing, ahead of the controversial bout.
Paul, 27, will face Tyson, 57, on July 21 (AEST) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in an exhibition bout that will be aired on Netflix.
The fight has garnered plenty of negative attention but has been touted by some as the fight of the year, despite several other more prominent professional fights on the cards.
Ahead of Devin Haney vs. Ryan Garcia this weekend, De La Hoya questioned Paul’s motives for taking on someone 30 years his senior and urged him to take on a ranked fighter.
“I actually like Jake Paul for what he’s doing and the attention he’s bringing to the sport and what he wants to do with his promotional company and help the fighters… I love that,” he said.
“But he also talks about being a world champion and taking it seriously. Well, this is not serious – fighting Mike Tyson.
“Yes, I can understand it’s a lot of money, it’s going to attract a lot of eyeballs.
“The only critique I have for Jake Paul is that if you want to take the sport seriously then take the route world champions take.
“Fighting top 20, top 10, top five [opponents] and eventually becoming the mandatory to the world champion. That’s how you do it. That’s how you gain the respect from the fight fans – not fighting Tyson.”
De La Hoya, who is a few years younger than the former world heavyweight champion, also added.
“I worry about Tyson because we all love him and he’s 57.”He’s no spring chicken that’s for sure.”
