'Iron Mike' Tyson Returns To The Ring After 19 Years, Boxing World Awaits A Showdown

Countdown To The Paul-Tyson Showdown: Anticipation Grows With Just 48 Hours Left

Former US heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson (L) and US YouTuber and boxer Jake Paul (R) face off during a press conference on August 18, 2024, in New York City / Photo By Timothy A. Clary / AFP Via Getty Images.

By Moses Ochieng

With just 48 hours left until the highly anticipated Paul-Tyson boxing event, excitement is at an all-time high. Originally slated for earlier in the year, the match was postponed after Tyson experienced an ulcer flare-up mid-flight. Despite these health issues, the 58-year-old 'Iron Mike' is determined to be fight-ready this week.

Tyson, a former heavyweight champion, last fought professionally in 2005, while YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, 27, boasts a 10-1 pro record. Tyson mentioned he's been training from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily to prepare, though his coach has raised some doubts about the rigorous schedule.

 “Who knows what sort of training Tyson’s doing. Six hours a day, whatever—is that beneficial to him or not? Is that the truth or not? It takes a bit longer to recover the older you get. If he's in the gym grafting for six hours a day, it’s not really giving him a lot of time to recover. That might just be a little nugget for us to sort of digest,” former World Champion Boxer George Groves stated in an interview with  BestOffshoreSportsbooks.

While Tyson hasn’t competed professionally since his 2005 loss to Kevin McBride, he did step into the ring for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. four years ago. In contrast, Paul has been steadily active since making his professional debut in 2020. Tyson’s MMA coach, Rafael Cordeiro—who also trained former UFC champion Anderson Silva—intends to incorporate classic techniques into Tyson’s training regimen.

 “I think it’s got to be a tough man [to train Tyson], and guys from the mixed martial arts backgrounds usually have very clever, old-school, unconventional methods. They’re usually tough guys, so I can imagine that's what Tyson’s leaned into. He wants to be quick, he wants to be powerful, but he wants to be tough too, so maybe that's what we'll see,” added Groves.

The Netflix-hosted event will showcase seven fights, headlined by a much-anticipated rematch between Katie Taylor, the undisputed super lightweight champion, and Amanda Serrano, the unified featherweight champion. This bout marks their second encounter following a thrilling sold-out showdown at Madison Square Garden in 2022, where Taylor narrowly edged out Serrano in a split-decision win. The rematch adds an extra layer of excitement to the card.