Jake Paul accused of 'not taking boxing seriously' as Mike Tyson fight criticised

Former world champion Oscar De La Hoya has voiced his concerns over Jake Paul's decision to fight boxing legend Mike Tyson, echoing the worries of others such as Conor McGregor about Tyson's age and health.

The exhibition bout between Paul and Tyson is set to take place this summer at ATandT Stadium, with an expected audience of 80,000 spectators and millions more watching the live stream on Netflix.

The announcement of the clash between YouTuber Paul and Tyson was made last month by Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP). Paul recently triumphed over Ryan Bourland with a decisive knockout and has previously faced off against several big names in UFC including Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva, and Ben Askren. Paul's next opponent, Tyson, hasn't stepped into the ring since his 2020 exhibition match with Roy Jones Jr., which drew massive pay-per-view numbers as the then 57 year old made his first return to the sport since 2005.

Several high-profile figures, including Conor McGregor and Eddie Hearn, have criticised the upcoming fight due to the significant age difference between the two fighters. Ahead of the Devin Haney versus Ryan Garcia match on Saturday, De La Hoya appeared on The MMA Hour and criticised Paul, accusing him of not living up to his claims of wanting to win a world title.

"I actually like Jake Paul for what he's doing and the attention he's bringing to the sport and what he wants to do with his promotional company and help the fighters... I love that," De La Hoya voiced during his talk with Ariel Helwani. "But he also talks about being a world champion and taking it seriously," reports the Express.

"Well, this is not serious - fighting Mike Tyson. Yes, I can understand it's a lot of money...