Mike Perry, a professional fighter, expressed his wish to be Jake Paul’s next opponent in the boxing ring, but is happy to see Mike Tyson, who is over 30 years older than Paul, get the opportunity and believes Tyson still poses a threat despite his age.
Mike Perry’s got a wish. He wants to be Jake Paul’s next boxing opponent. But hey, he’s not sour about Mike Tyson getting the big bucks. In fact, he’s kind of excited to see if Tyson can turn back time.
Paul and Tyson are set to duke it out in a boxing match on July 20. The venue? AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The event will be streamed exclusively on Netflix for subscribers. Perry, meanwhile, is gearing up for his own fight against Thiago Alves in the main event of BKFC’s Knucklemania 4 on April 27. He shared his thoughts on the Paul-Tyson booking, which was officially announced last Thursday.
Perry’s reaction? “I was like, damn, get that bag, Mike,” he told MMA Fighting at the Joshua vs. Ngannou Watch Party. He thinks 57-year-old Tyson could be trouble for Jake. “He can hurt him for sure, so let’s see if they’re allowed to knock each other out, or if only Jake is allowed. Who knows?”
As of now, it’s still up in the air whether the bout will be a sanctioned pro bout or an exhibition. “The promoter has requested to have an event that day, but we have not received any proposed cards and thus have no details about what they are planning. All bouts are subject to review and approval by [Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation],” a TDLR spokesperson told MMA Fighting on Thursday.
The age difference between Paul and Tyson is a big talking point in the combat sports community. Paul will be over 30 years younger than Tyson when they step into the ring. Perry acknowledges that Tyson’s age could be a factor, but he doesn’t think it rules out the possibility of Tyson delivering a powerful performance.
“Obviously the age difference is the biggest factor here,” Perry said. “We saw Mike against Roy Jones and he looked great. He looked like he didn’t skip a beat. I think if he comes out punching at Jake and doesn’t try to weather the young man’s storm, if he just comes out to get him and maybe take a breather every now and then if the kid can survive it … because I can see Jake running from him.
“Jake’s boxing is very point and get out of the way when he’s fighting someone who can hit him. And the last guy he fought, was of no danger, you know what I mean? So even a 57-year-old Mike Tyson still has some danger, at least Jake’s fighting a puncher this time.”
Perry’s been doing well since he left the UFC. He’s become the face of BKFC. While he’s excited to be facing Alves at the promotion’s annual major event next month, Perry was still hopeful his number would get called for the chance to face Paul.
But he’s not upset about stepping aside to watch Tyson get a big opportunity. “It should be me though,” Perry said. “I should be fighting Jake, but it’s Mike Tyson, so how can I compete with that? It’ll be on Netflix and they’re doing all this marketing together. It’s good for Mike and it will be exciting because of Mike.”