Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis are of the same thinking when it comes to Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson.
Both men are set to square off on November 15 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in a crossover clash being broadcast live on Netflix.
The fight has been met with a mixed reception due to the 31-year age gap between the pair.
Tyson recently celebrated his 58th birthday while Paul is in his physical prime at 27.
As a result, most are picking against the ageing legend but his former foes Lewis and Holyfield think he has enough left in the tank to dispatch of Paul if he executes the right gameplan.
“Mike Tyson’s gonna win,” Lewis told Fox 29. “He’s not that old. Don’t take him too softly.
“We’re one year apart… You can fight somebody like that and do well, because the person you’re fighting is not a true fighter and there’s a hundred things that you’ve forgotten that he’s learning.
[The age] will be a little bit of a determining factor if the fight goes on too long, but if they get close and Mike comes with his ten-second combination, if one of those punches catches [Paul] he’s definitely gonna go down.”
Holyfield concurred with Lewis’ warning during an interview with Fight Hub TV.
“I don’t know how much confidence that Jake Paul has and all of that, but he’s gonna be a lot quicker,” he said.
“If he stays close to Mike then his chance of winning is going to be great, but if he tries to stay back from Mike he’s going to get caught.
“Mike is like a snake. He’ll pop out on you. He gets there too quick. But if you charge him, you’re going to smother him.
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“He pushes off his legs so he’s too close, but if you give him room everybody gets knocked out going backwards. Give him room and you’re gonna be messed up.”
When he sat down with The Hollywood Reporter recently, Paul said he expects Tyson to ‘try to force him against the ropes’ when they share the ring together next month.
In order to stop this from happening, the ex-Disney star insists he will ‘box on the outside’ and use his footwork to make Tyson chase him.
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This goes directly against Holyfield’s advice, who thinks Paul’s key to victory is forcing Tyson on his heels.
Holyfield and Lewis both hold wins over ‘Iron Mike’ during their primes and are aware of how hard he can hit.
The last thing to go in a fighter is their power and clearly Tyson still carries that in bursts.
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