Ricky Hatton has slammed the upcoming fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, expressing his belief that boxing icons of the past will be “in their graves”.
It was recently announced that 57-year-old Tyson will face 27-year-old Paul in four months.
Tyson was a formidable force throughout his boxing career, establishing himself as one of the greatest fighters of all time with wins over the likes of Trevor Berbick, Larry Holmes and Michael Spinks in the 1980s.
Paul, on the other hand, has won nine of his 10 fights, six of which have come by knockout.
Mike Tyson and Jake Paul are set to face each other in July, but their next fight is sparking backlash
getty
However, this fight is controversial due to their large age difference.
And fans also don't think Paul is a suitable opponent for Tyson, especially after his loss to Tommy Fury last year.
Mr. Hutton announced his assessment in an interview with Instant Casino.
And while criticizing both Tyson and Paul, the Brit said that bygone greats would “turn to their graves”.
“I understand the pushing and shoving, the cursing, the trying to keep each other in check, but let's be honest, some of the great champions of the past would go to their graves watching that devastation.” he said.
“I'm going to go into the grave and see for myself.
“But I'm opening my eyes in the sense that this is the world we're in now.
“We're in the entertainment business, and I think there could be a world of YouTubers versus MMA or MMA versus boxers.
“As long as fights like Garcia, Crawford, Spence, Fury, Usyk happen, as long as those fights happen, they can stay in their world and we can stay in our world.
“Both can exist. I don't look away and say, 'Oh, this is a joke.' We're in the entertainment world, and that's why they {YouTubers} have followers. That's because people want to see it.''
“But let them have their world, and we will have ours.”
Hatton is not the only figure in the boxing world to criticize the fight.
Before Anthony Joshua's recent win over Francis Ngannou, Eddie Hearn was asked about the matchup.
And the boxing promoter admitted he was “very sad” following the announcement of the fight, which will be shown on Netflix.
“This is a big deal,” the 44-year-old said. “It’s very sad for me because I love boxing so it’s wrong to ask the question.
Latest sports news:
Ricky Hatton dissatisfied with decision to fight Mike Tyson and Jake Paul
getty
“Mike Tyson is almost 60 years old. I know, a lot of people are going to be paying attention.
“But my opinion as a hardcore fight fan is that it's very sad.”
However, Hearn admitted that he felt streaming the fights by Netflix could be a positive for boxing as it would allow fans to watch on a new platform.
“That's a positive thing. Any platform that comes into this sport is positive for boxing,” he said.
“Netflix is a huge platform. I think they can do a lot with this sport.
Jake Paul VS. Mike Tyson
Live streaming on Netflix #Paul Tyson pic.twitter.com/WW6Wi3bKM9
— Netflix (@netflix) March 7, 2024
“But for true lovers of the sport, that game is sad to watch.”
Tyson said he was looking forward to the fight with Paul, claiming his opponent had “grown” over the last few years.
“I’m really looking forward to getting in the ring with Jake Paul,” he said.
“He's grown a lot as a boxer over the years, so it'll be a lot of fun to see what impact the 'kid's' will and ambition can have on the GOAT's experience and aptitude.”