Paul announced in February that he would take on former heavyweight champion Tyson in a fight shown on Netflix on July 20. Tyson will be 58 at the time of the fight, over 30 years older than his opponent who initially earned fame as a YouTube star.

It was widely expected that the fight would be an exhibition but it was confirmed late last month that it will hold professional status. It will be Tyson’s first professional bout since 2005 and it will appear on both fighters’ records. Tyson last stepped into the ring in 2020 when he had an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. Salita says the legendary star showed on that occasion that he still has the power to beat Paul.

However, he is excited to view the fight as a boxing fan and believes it won’t be like a normal professional fight. Salita added: “Generally speaking I’m uncomfortable with people boxing past 45, in real professional fights.

“What Jake Paul is doing in many ways is great for the sport of boxing in my opinion and this is not like a real professional fight in some ways. Do you know what I’m saying?

“It’s not like Jake Paul won the national golden gloves and won three world championship fights.

“That’s a decision for the commissioner and doctors to make. If he’s safe enough and healthy enough and can run and pass certain tests and is deemed healthy enough to get into the ring, then it is what it is.

“And I don’t have any criticism of it, as a fan. As a fan I am grateful that Netflix is showing this fight.” Salita also believes the fight will be good for the future of boxing and attract more fans to the sport. He said: “I feel like there will be a lot of promotion in the lead-up to the event which will show some of Tyson’s earlier fights and tell the story.

 

“That will inspire people and hopefully, and I believe they will, Neflix has a great way of telling stories. “Story-telling is what is so important to pull the boxing fans back into the sport of boxing.”