Four-division world champion Jeff Fenech is adamant his good friend Mike Tyson will overcome the 31-year age gap to Jake Paul and knock the YouTuber out very early in their blockbuster fight this weekend.
Paul and Tyson are due to meet in the hotly-anticipated bout on November 16, Australian time, at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
A crowd of over 80,000 fans are due to be in attendance, with boxing industry experts claiming that ‘Iron Mike’ could be set to pocket a cool $30million.
Fenech is a close friend of the 58-year-old boxer and has previously trained the fighter who was once dubbed ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’.
Revealing his predictions, Fenech backed Tyson to deliver a comeback for the ages.
‘If it’s the Mike Tyson that I think is going to step into the ring, it’ll be over very, very quickly,’ the ‘Marrickville Mauler’ told Sporting News.
‘Obviously, I would hate to see my friend get hurt. Now that I’ve seen what he’s done and gone through [in training for the fight], I think that he’s going to be perfectly fine.
‘If he does things properly I think it will take a minute or so and his hand will be raised and Jake Paul will be knocked out.’
Mike Tyson is giving Jake Paul (pictured together on Wednesday) a huge edge in terms of youth – but his mate Jeff Fenech doesn’t think it will matter
The all-time-great Aussie boxer (pictured) is tipping Iron Mike to turn Paul’s lights out within about a minute of the first bell sounding on Saturday, Australian time
Fenech previously described what he believes is the ideal strategy for Iron Mike to adopt come fight night.
‘I just told him what I think he should do – don’t punch with him [Paul], don’t punch at the same time as Jake Paul,’ he said.
‘Just make him miss and make him pay.
‘It could be over in 40 seconds if he lands one punch.’
Fenech has been there for the former heavyweight fighter during some of the low parts of his life, supporting Tyson during Alcoholics Anonymous classes.
While some have questioned whether Tyson will still be able to perform against the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer, Fenech claimed that Tyson was in fine form ahead of the bout.
‘You don’t lose that power, and his greatest attribute was being able to make someone miss, then make them pay,’ Fenech, who trained Tyson ahead of his exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr, said.
‘He’s 58, but he looks amazing and he sounds good – he’s confident. It made me really happy.’
Speaking on Tyson’s chances, he believed he’d claim an easy victory against Paul, knocking out the American fighter.
Having supported Tyson throughout his career, the American had also returned the favour after Fenech fell ill earlier this year. Tyson had reportedly FaceTimed the Aussie boxing champion who held titles across three weight divisions.
Fenech is pictured training Mike Tyson for a fight in March 2005. The pair of world champs have been friends for decades
Fenech, though, will not be able to make it to the fight in Texas next week. But he lumped praise on Tyson, stating: ‘To turn his life around like he has, it’s amazing. He’s a special one.’
Tyson, meanwhile, has been showing shades of his old self in training, showcasing his frightening punching power and intensity after several videos of his training regime have gone viral.
Rafael Cordeiro, his trainer, told NewsCorp: ‘I look at him and I see him do moves sometimes it takes me back to when he’s 25. And I look at him and I’m like, “Wow.” He amazes me.
‘The power is unbelievable. There’s nobody like Mike, why? Because there’s nobody who’s 57 years old doing what he does.’
