According to UFC veteran Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, the proposed exhibition boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul is a “lose-lose” scenario for the YouTube star turned boxer Jake Paul.
In a conversation with friends, Cerrone broke down the no-win situation Paul finds himself in by agreeing to step into the ring with boxing legend Mike Tyson. Even at 60 years old, Tyson is still regarded as one of the most fearsome punchers in boxing history.
“You go out there and lose to Tyson, you’re not gonna be able to get those big fights that he’s looking for anywhere,” Cerrone said on his podcast. “You couldn’t even beat a 60-year-old man.”
On the other hand, if the unthinkable happens and Paul manages to defeat Tyson, Cerrone believes it would be “career suicide” and Paul would be vilified by fans and pundits for beating a boxing great long past his prime.
“You go out there and beat a 60-year-old man, the whole world’s gonna be like ‘Dude, come on,'” Cerrone explained. “People are gonna hate you for it.”
Cerrone points out that while Paul feuding with and fighting aging superstars like Tyson may generate buzz, it ultimately does little for the credibility of his boxing career. He suggests it would make more sense for Tyson to take an exhibition bout against another all-time great like Floyd Mayweather instead.
“The young YouTuber dude coming up, man, that’s just crazy because how scary is that?” Cerrone said. “Every night you gotta go and watch highlight videos of Mike Tyson just blowing people’s heads off.”