Mike Tyson is known for instilling fear. Apparently he suffers from it, too.
The former heavyweight champion said he’s “scared to death” as he prepares to fight Jake Paul in a bout scheduled for July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Tyson will be 58 and Paul will be 27.
“Anything I’m afraid of, I confront it,” Tyson said during an interview on Fox News with Sean Hannity Tuesday. “And that’s my personality.
“Like right now, I’m scared to death. But as the fight gets closer, the less nervous I become because it’s reality. And in reality, I’m invincible.”
Tyson, who was 50-6 with 44 knockouts as a pro fighter, said the feeling of fear drove him throughout his career.
“I always believed that adversity or nervousness, it liked pretty much catapulted me into success,” he said. “If I didn’t have these feelings, I wouldn’t go into this fight. I have to have these feelings to fight. Without them I would never go in the ring.”
Tyson said he experienced the same feelings in 2020 before agreeing to fight Roy Jones in match in an exhibition.
“And I said, let’s do it,” Tyson recalled.
The eight-round fight with Jones ended in a draw, as scored by three celebrity judges.
Tyson told Hannity the fight against Paul would be an “exhibition,” but the rules for the right have not been announced.
