BOXING
Boxing

Mike Tyson sends definitive message to his fans for Jake Paul fight: "Times change"

Iron Mike is looking to give fans a show.

Mike Tyson during fight week.
Mike Tyson during fight week.LAPRESSE

The time has come. After so much speculation and so much doubt about whether it would ever actually come to fruition, Mike Tyson will step into the ring against the much-younger Jake Paul on Friday night in Arlington, Texas. The fans want a show, and they will likely get it from one of the most dangerous boxers of all-time and a willing challenger.

Logic is on the side of Paul, who is over 30 years younger than the legendary boxer. Despite Tyson looking sharp in recent trainings and given his incredible pedigree from a Hall of Fame career, fans are still a bit worried about how Tyson will fare. That was amplified when he suffered a. health scare during the summer that forced the postponement of the fight.

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul go head to head in tense showdown ahead of their big fightLucas Mostazo

Mike Tyson says fans have nothing to worry about

While his fans wait on pins and needles, Tyson is confident and fears nothing. Even at 58 years old, Tyson believes he's still the "Baddest Man on the Planet". And he conveyed that strongly with a statement to his fans in an interview with BoxingScene.

Thank you very much for being concerned, but I'm fighting and I'm going to be OK. What am I worried about? There is nothing I can think of, or nothing that I am contemplating. I was born to do this. I was built for this stuff. I was born to sell out stadiums. This is what I always wanted to do my entire life. [I'm coming out] like a rocket. I'm going the distance every day in the gym. I'm prepared. I'm in condition.

'They will see how special I am' - Mike Tyson and Jake Paul gear up for historic fight in TexasLAPRESSE

Tyson mentions that "times change", but he believes it has been for the better. He harkens back to consuming narcotics and alcohol back in the day, but he's off that stuff now and has his body and mind ready for action.

BoxingMike Tyson Record: KO's, defeats and all the results during his long career
BoxingJake Paul and Tyson to undergo doping tests... plus a serious accusation from Mike Perry
BoxingJake Paul sums up the rules of his fight with Mike Tyson in the simplest of : "The End"