Steve Ward, the world's oldest boxer, has expressed serious concerns about Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul.
Ward fought until he was 64, so he has unique insight into the crossover showdown between Tyson, who will be 58 on fight night, and a man 31 years his junior.
In his final fight, Ward retired Adrian Parogia, 50, four days shy of his 65th birthday, within a round and retired from the sport in a grand manner.
The Nottingham puncher is backing Tyson to do the same against Paul on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
However, there are concerns about whether Tyson will be allowed to show his full potential in “Problem Child.''
“Personally, I think Mike Tyson could go head-on and knock him out in under a minute, just beat the hell out of him,” Ward told talkSPORT.com.
“But are they going to allow that? Or are there some nasty things going on behind the scenes that say, 'Mike, you're not going to knock him out? Well, that's all to see.' Is not it.”
If, as Ward says, Tyson “takes the reins,” he fears “Iron Mike” will lose the respect of the boxing fraternity.
“Personally, I wish this fight had never happened, because if Mike were to take the reins like that, it would only end badly for one person, Mike Tyson,” he said. continued.
“I don't want him to come out in a way where he loses respect and I really think that's exactly what will happen if he holds back.
“So this is embarrassing. I wish this hadn't gotten off the ground.”
Ward retired from professional boxing in 1987 after injuring his foot in a work accident, but miraculously returned to the ring 23 years later and defeated Greg Scott-Briggs.
He knows from personal experience how difficult it is to get back into the sport after a long layoff, and sympathizes with the “suffering” Tyson puts himself through to get into fighting shape. .
“It's awkward. First of all, you have to really want to do it,” he added.
“You have to have the will to do it. You can't do it half-heartedly. You don't play football, you don't play tennis, you don't box.
“So it's one of those rings, it's the loneliest place on Earth, and if you're not up to standard you can be seriously injured.
“So to get it, you have to really want to do it and you have to know what it entails. It's painful.
“It's a pain to keep training. When I came back to boxing, I was training 10, 12 hours a day because you could catch a cold.
“That guy in the opposite corner wants to nail you. You know what it's like, but you're not ready to let him do it.
“So you can imagine Mike has had a tough job and has had to get back in shape. From what I've seen, his quick combination looks good for business.”
“But the fast combinations could be seen right away and then duff up a little bit. I hope he doesn't, that he's really training himself towards that great peak. I hope so. Once again, I want him to do the pole.”
