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Boxing

'We don't want to see him hurt our idol!' - Former world champion and DAZN pundits deliver verdicts on Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson

Gareth Jones
'We don't want to see him hurt our idol!' - Former world champion and DAZN pundits deliver verdicts on Jake Paul vs. Mike TysonDAZN
A blockbuster battle in Texas has got the whole boxing world talking, and there's plenty wondering just how it will all play out.

For all the controversy over the seriousness of Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, fight week has brought talk to more typical territory and the key question - who wins in Dallas?

From die-hard boxing fans to YouTube obsessives, and retired fighters to respected pundits, Friday night's big bout way down in Texas has plenty of people split on the outcome.

Many long for The Baddest Man on the Planet to roll back the years and take a win for "proper" boxing. Others cannot see past the chasm in age and fitness to the younger Paul.

The Problem Child has won two fights this year already, boasting a 10-1 record. Iron Mike has not boxed professionally since 2005, in a career-ending loss to Kevin McBride.

The money appears to follow Tyson, with Oddschecker reporting that 66.5% - almost two-thirds - of all bets back him for the win, with 24.4% lumping on Paul and 9.1% on a draw.

But what most can definitively settle on is that the fight - eight rounds, each at two minutes - will come down to Tyson's power and boxing expertise versus Paul's fitness and youth.

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That's exactly how DAZN's boxing pundits see it too, with ex-light-middleweight world champion Sergio Mora and commentators Barak Bess and Akin Reyes all in agreement.

"I know that he is 58 years old," Bess opined. "But [Tyson] is still scary. Look at his genetics compared to Jake Paul. He looks in better shape than Jake.

"We've seen those little clips of his pad work. Yes, they are short bursts, but if any one of those shots land, they will hurt Jake.

"But then again, Jake is younger, [he is] powerful, and he has dropped everyone he has fought. What we don't want to see is Jake hurt our idol."

Reyes concurs that Tyson could deliver a crucial blow, but agrees he must end the fight in the opening stages to have a chance against his younger rival.

"Mike is dangerous early," he added. "Mike hits hard. The last thing as a boxer you lose is your power. Yes, Mike is nice to Jake outside of the ring.

"But once he steps into that ring, he will go to hurt him. Mike will fade after the first three rounds, and then that [takes the fight] into Jake's favour."

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Mora, who twice challenged for the WBA middleweight title in his career and came to prominence through the reality television show The Contender, it is a case of head over heart.

"He is only fighting eight two-minute rounds, and that will help Mike," he noted, with reference to the unusually short nature of the headline contest.

"However, once you get into the third [or] fourth round, those two minutes are still going to feel very long for a 58-year-old fighter.

"You have to remember the last time Mike got into a ring for a boxing fight was 20 years ago. Yes, he looked impressive in that Roy Jones Jr. exhibition fight a few years back.

"That will have impressed a lot of people, as he seemed to be in shape. But I don't see a 58-year-old version of Mike Tyson doing anything to beat this guy, and I hate to say that."

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Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez vs. Chris Billam-Smith

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