AFP. New York :
Former heavyweight king Mike Tyson said on Monday his decision to step back into the ring at the age of 57 is a “no- brainer”, brushing off recent criticism that he was too old to make a comeback.
At a press conference in New York to promote his upcoming bout against YouTuber-turned-fighter Jake Paul, Tyson admitted training for his return had taken a toll.
“I’m doing great but my body is shit right now, I’m sore, I’m really sore,” said Tyson, who faces Paul on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, that is home to the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.
But the boxer who terrorized the heavyweight division in the 1980s and 1990s as the self-styled “baddest man on the planet” insisted he had no reservations about lacing up his gloves again, nearly two decades after his last professional fight in 2005.
“It was a no-brainer,” said Tyson. “He’s a new up-and-coming guy on the scene. And I like shaking the sports world to its core and I am doing it now. It’s just something that I want to do.”
Tyson, who turns 58 in June, takes on the 27-year-old Paul in a professional bout comprising eight two-minute rounds that has been sanctioned by boxing authorities in Texas.