Mike Tyson v Jake Paul: Tyson will hold back to not 'seriously hurt him' says insider

A former sparring partner of Mike Tyson said he thinks the former world heavyweight champion will "pull his punches" during the upcoming fight with Jake Paul as he could "seriously hurt" the YouTuber.

Tyson is due to fight Paul on November 15 in Arlington, Texas in the first event of its kind to be live streamed on Netflix.

It was scheduled to go ahead in July but was postponed after Tyson sustained a health scare.

Everyone seems to have had their say on the fight, from Joe Rogan to former world super-middleweight champion Carl Froch and just about everyone in between.

But an insider claims that Tyson will "pull his punches" when the two finally meet in the ring.

Mike Tyson shoves Jake Paul during a press conference in August / Timothy A. Clary, AFP via Getty Images

"For me, it's going to be a glorified sparring session," Joe Egan, Tyson's former sparring partner, said when speaking with TalkSPORT.

"When Mike boxed Roy Jones Jr he hit Roy with a body shot and sunk him and Mike knew he could hurt Roy Jones.

"Anybody that Mike hits is going to hurt, probably knockout as well but he carried Roy Jones.

"I never believed Mike Tyson could carry anybody because when I sparred him at Catskill, every punch he threw was with bad intentions. He was a vicious, ferocious, savage heavyweight.

"To see him mellow with age is wonderful and to see what he did with Roy Jones is incredible.

"Jake Paul was on that undercard and when he saw Mike pull his punches they probably felt confident. You've got to admire him for getting in the ring with Mike Tyson but I don't think Mike will go full force on him.

"I don't believe that because if Mike went full force on Jake Paul, he could seriously hurt him, never mind about the age."

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