As we move closer to fall, the takes surrounding the upcoming Jake Paul and Mike Tyson bout are ramping back up. Mike Tyson has responded to doubters who don't think his experience will outweigh his age against a fighter 30 years younger, and I don't think anyone will stop that talk until we're all watching the November fight via Netflix subscription. That said, Russell Crowe had an interesting take on why Tyson shouldn't go forward with it, and I kind of agree.
Internet personalities like KSI think it's a terrible idea, and that Jake Paul is destined to lose to Mike Tyson, but we haven't heard much about the other way around until now. Actor Russell Crowe, who starred in one of the greatest boxing movies of all time, Cinderella Man, gave his thoughts on why Tyson shouldn't do the fight on the Joe Rogan Experience, and I'm shocked no one has spoken loudly about this sooner:
The thing is, I was quite enjoying the second phase of Mike’s life. I was terrified of him as a boxer. He was terrifying. Even when I met him backstage at a stadium one time at a fight, I was like ‘I’m still terrified of you’. Then that guy, he started becoming where he became more explorative and he was looking into what the meaning of life is and having a smoke every now and then? I was like, ‘I’m enjoying this Mike. I’m liking the evolution’. What bothers me with this whole thing is that he’s got to kind of slide back into that warrior and I’m just not sure that he needed to do it.
At his athletic peak, Mike Tyson could be considered one of the greatest athletes who ever lived. His devastating knockout power was lauded by many of his contemporaries, but all good things must come to an end. It seemed like Tyson had put boxing behind him and was content to host bonkers podcasts and talk about sleeping with his tigers. But a return to the ring is clearly important to him in one way or another.
I, too, have enjoyed the second phase of Mike Tyson's career, but will counter Russell Crowe's point with another. If there's one thing I've learned about Tyson after watching him make cameos in movies and taking recreational drugs, he seems to crave new experiences and adventure. He's basically living out the plot of Rocky Balboa in real life, and I can't think of a bigger adventure than that.
Perhaps what's happening here is that we're seeing Mike Tyson marry the first act of his life to the second. Based on all his responses to the press so far and his fight training videos, he still seems like a fierce competitor. Plus, the money he's making from the Jake Paul bout will almost surely pay for a lot more creative endeavors for the fighter and maybe cybernetic enhancements to improve his body for a rematch should he lose the fight. Hey, Tyson can be a wild dude. I would not put it past him to look into becoming a cyborg!
We're on track to watch Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul on Netflix on November 15th. Make sure that subscription is up to date before the big fight night, and continue to stay with CinemaBlend as we get closer for more updates on each fighter.
