Youth Vs Experience

As many have heard, 57-year-old Mike Tyson will fight 27-year-old YouTube celebrity Jake Paul in July.

For me, this will be a story of youth vs experience.

Both being born showmen, this fight is getting a lot of hype and speculation as its outcome.

For the sake of this post, let’s assume this is a serious fight between the two and that this will not be fixed in any way, shape or form.

First, let’s look at two videos.

If you’re not able to view the video, go here.

Movement

At 57 years old, Tyson is in phenomenal shape. His footwork, speed posture, and head movement all seem top-notch, which should concern Jake Paul and his entourage. The only caveat I might have about the above video is that it seems quite curated and consists of split-second videos. In any case, he looks impressive.

Net, let’s take a look at Jake Paul below.

Quite frankly, I’m not impressed with his pad work. He has an impressive physique and reasonable footwork, holds his gloves properly, and has some decent combinations. However, two things are missing. He lacks fluidity and explosiveness. He does not come close to Tyson’s technical ability, explosiveness and fluid movement.

Based on the two videos, I would rate Iron Mike’s movement far ahead of Jake Paul’s. Set aside his intimidating personality, Iron Mike’s technical proficiency, footwork, head movement, speed, and power exceed Jake Paul’s. In my book, it’s not a close call.

Experience

Comparing their boxing experience is laughable. But let’s get serious for a minute.

What’s that saying? “Experience is everything.”

Jake Paul has only 10 fights under his belt.

On the other hand, Tyson started boxing at 15 and had 54 fights as an amateur and 56 as a professional fighter.

As one can see, Iron Mike is vastly more experienced (110 fights total) than Paul (10 fights). Folks, as I said above, there’s nothing like experience.

Let’s get a little deeper, though and consider their quality of opposition.

Quality of Opposition

Professional boxers are often measured by their quality of opposition. Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard had the highest quality of opposition in boxing history. For that reason, they are regarded as all-time greats.

So, let’s look at Mike Tyson’s and Jake Paul’s quality of opposition.

On the one hand, Tyson has faced Marvis Frazier, Michael Spinks, Trevor Berbick, Tyrell Biggs, Larry Holmes, Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Andrew Golota, Donovan Ruddock, and Lennox Lewis.

This is an extremely high level of opposition for Mike Tyson. I’d take any of his opponents over Jake Paul. Not a close call. In martial terms, he’s been road-tested.

And Jake Paul’s opposition?

Let’s say that it is underwhelming. He has fought against a fellow celebrity, a former pro basketball player, and over-the-hill MMA fighters before taking on a “real boxer.” Guess what happened? He lost to the “real boxer”(Tommy Fury). He then beat Nate Diaz, a 37-year-old former MMA star, via unanimous decision.

Side note: Paul did beat legendary MMA star Anderson Silva. However, Silva was 47 at the time of the fight. MMA fighters have generally not done well against boxers.

To his credit, his last two fights were against boxers (Andre August and Ryan Bourland). Unfortunately, they were both older boxers past their prime.

To Paul’s credit, it seems he is serious about boxing and has dedicated himself to it. He appears to be putting in the effort to improve his boxing skills.

The Youth Factor

Will Mike Tyson’s age of 57 set him back? That might be the case in a fight between two equally skilled boxers. After all, Jake Paul is 30 years younger than Iron Mike.

As stated above, Tyson’s experience and quality of opposition far exceed Jake Paul’s. In addition, Tyson has a huge advantage over Paul regarding technical proficiency, footwork, speed, and power. That will be enough for Tyson to overcome Jake Paul’s youth advantage.

However, I hope Tyson’s cardio and stamina are in decent shape for this fight. He may succumb to Jake Paul’s youth advantage if it isn’t.

My prediction is Tyson will win by KO in Round 2.

For Jake Paul to win, he must have the best performance of his life, and for Iron Mike’s cardio to be suboptimal.

My opinion? I’m rooting for Iron Mike and hope he teaches Jake Paul a lesson.

The Unknowns

Two unknown factors exist here. First, there are rumors that Tyson and Paul will be fighting with 18-ounce gloves and headgear. That would hardly constitute a “fight.”

Secondly, we don’t know the size of the ring. That is often the topic of negotiation between boxers. A small ring would favor Tyson. On the other hand, Jake Paul would benefit from a larger ring in which he can stick and run in the hopes of wearing out Tyson.

The Netflix Factor

The third factor to consider is Netflix. This streaming service gained popularity with “House of Cards“ in 2013, and as a result, Netflix became the dominant streaming service. However, the competition for streaming has exploded in recent years. Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Peacock, and many others have arrived. The competition is brutal. In short, we are in the middle of the streaming wars.

Is this a bid by Netflix to regain its edge over its competition? I would not rule out the possibility that this is the case. I also would not rule out that this fight has been scripted from behind the scenes. Maybe not.

Takeaway

Again, let’s assume that this will be an actual fight. The most relevant factors for me are experience and age. Unfortunately, experience has been downgraded or even demonized in recent years. Again, “there’s nothing like experience.“

The wild card is the age factor. For all his experience and talent, Tyson IS 30 years older than Jake Paul.

When I go to the gym, I see that most lifters are younger, bigger and more flexible than I am.

Suggested Additional Reading:

• Paul Vunak and Filipino Martial Arts
• Back to Teaching!
• First Post From Ontario
• 2008 Toronto FMA Workshop
• Women Warriors of FMAs: Karen Callahan (Part 2)

How would I do if I got into a tussle with one of them? Let’s be realistic. I’m 59, six months away from my 60th birthday. My physical conditioning is nothing like what it was in my 20s—not close. I may be in great shape for a 59-year-old, but I ain’t no spring chicken. Father Time erodes your reflexes, flexibility, muscle mass and strength. All I can do is slow that process down. In short, I’m realistic about my chances against the gym’s 20- and 30-year-old crowd. I ain’t reckless.

In this fight, I take Tyson’s vast experience over Jake Paul’s youth. However, the 30-year gap is quite substantial and may favor Jake Paul.

Let’s see what happens.

One More Thing

In the last four weeks, I have published several blog posts with native video uploads. They are all free to the public; however, starting next, they will be available only to subscribers. They cover footwork and using the center line.

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