Carl Froch has expressed his strong disapproval of the proposed fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, criticizing the matchup as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘wrong.’
The unexpected announcement emerged last week, stating that YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul and the long-retired boxing icon Tyson had agreed to face off on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It remains unclear if this event will be recognized as an official, regulated professional boxing match or merely an exhibition bout.
Paul, aged 27, last appeared in the ring against Ryan Bourland in Puerto Rico, securing a victory with a first-round knockout. Tyson’s final professional bout was in 2005, after consecutive losses prompted him to retire from boxing, despite having been the youngest heavyweight world champion.
Since retiring, Tyson has shifted his focus to entrepreneurial ventures but returned to the ring in November 2020 for an exhibition match against 51-year-old Roy Jones Jr, a move many criticized as a tasteless attempt to generate revenue.
During a luncheon in London on Monday hosted by the Boxing Writers’ Club to celebrate his Hall of Fame career, Froch shared his opinions with Boxing Scene on the upcoming Paul versus Tyson fight.
“It’s so disrespectful to our sport, to put somebody like Mike Tyson, who’s an icon of the sport, in with a performing clown like Jake Paul, who can’t fight,” he said, according to Boxing Social.
“We saw he can’t fight against a novice in Tommy Fury; they come along and earn fortunes because they’ve got children following them. This demographic that follows Jake Paul – it’s not realistic.
“They can make money from it, but to fight Mike Tyson is disrespectful; it’s disgraceful. I’ll be putting him right – saying that. It’s wrong.”
