Mike Tyson doesn't think Jake Paul can hurt him and hits back at "too old" claims

Mike Tyson has spoken about his rescheduled fight with Jake Paul, saying he doesn't think the YouTuber can hurt him and has hit back at claims from former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder that he's "too old".

Tyson was due to fight Paul in Arlington, Texas on July 20 in the first fight to ever be live streamed on Netflix but the fight was postponed to November after Tyson sustained a health scare and had to delay on medical grounds.

Paul is fighting Mike Perry instead, a former UFC and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship competitor, on July 20 and has questioned if the fight later in the year with Tyson will go ahead at all.

In an interview with Esquire, Tyson said he doesn't think Paul can hurt him, responded to Wilder's claims that he is "too old" and revealed why he wants the fight with Paul to go ahead so badly.

Mike Tyson said he doesn't think Jake Paul can hurt him / Cooper Neill, Getty Images for Netflix

"Can I be honest? I don't think he can hurt me. Coach, I don't think he can hurt me!" Tyson said. "He's not going to hit me with the jab.

"My wife keeps saying 'you don't have to do this. You don't have to do this'. And I'm like 'no, I do have to do this'.

“I’m a glory junkie. I love people thinking about me all day. I'd rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity. It's just who I am.

"This is all I started fighting for - to get all this f*****g status. I'm going to be chasing it for the rest of my life. I know that. I'm never going to get what I want because I'm one of those gluttons for pain. I can never get enough."

Wilder was reported as saying Tyson is "too old for this" and Tyson has hit back.

Tyson said: "Then let Mike get hurt. You don’t have to worry about paying my bills.

"Everyone says this makes no sense, but he's [Wilder] how old? He's not who I am. He can't go to Mongolia and have somebody know who the f**k he is."

In a brief statement, Wilder said he "would just like to wish Mike the best".

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.