Lawrence Okolie warns that Friday's Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight is "weird" and "could be bad" for the elder fighter.
Paul and Tyson will square off at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, for a highly anticipated showdown between men who are separated by more than three decades of age.
The 27-year-old Paul, a boxing novice compared to former undisputed world heavyweight champion Tyson, will have youth on his side. And it's one factor that's too big for Okolie to overlook.
"Boxing is a young man’s game and Jake Paul has been active," Okolie told Betway. "Mike Tyson is one of the best fighters to have ever lived but unfortunately, father time is undefeated, so I am struggling to see how he is going to beat Jake Paul.
"I seem to be a minority in boxing about this fight but maybe everyone is just hopeful, but I can’t see the younger man losing the fight."
Okolie, who holds the WBC bridgerweight title and is a former WBO cruiserweight champion, acknowledged the weight that Tyson's name carries in the sport of boxing and hopes for the best for the "Baddest Man on the Planet," but the Briton doesn't believe there are many benefits to staging a fight against Paul at this time.
"I know what Mike Tyson has meant to people for so long so, understandably, people would get away from what we know is true, Mike Tyson is nearly 60 so I can’t see a 60-year-old as great as he was beating a man in his 20s who is active," he said.
"Especially in two-minute rounds where they can sprint. I think it will be competitive in the first few rounds where Jake Paul will be cautious and watching his power but if Mike Tyson isn’t as athletic or not punching as hard and fast as he once was, then it could be bad.
"It’s a weird fight, I don’t know how serious the fight is or who would sanction it for a 58-year-old to have a fight but we’re here."
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