Tyson Fury slams Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul haters amid ongoing backlash to fight

Tyson Fury has hit back at critics of Mike Tyson’s bout with Jake Paul after he stated that the fight is “fantastic for boxing”.

Fury, 35, was asked for his thoughts on the fight ahead of Manchester United’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The bout, set to be streamed live on Netflix, has faced criticism from some fans as they question just how good the fight will be between the pair who have a 30-year age gap between them.

Yet Fury was adamant that it will only be a good thing for the sport, insisting that the level of intrigue in the fight will drive a massive audience.

Fury: Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul “fantastic for boxing”

“I think it’s fantastic for boxing,” Fury told the The Stomping Ground. “You’ve got a legend in Mike Tyson. You’ve got a YouTube boxer, he has come into the game and blew it up and he’s got millions of followers and millions of views and millions of eyes.

“Good, bad, or indifferent. Some people love him, some people hate him. So, I think it’s a really good spectacle for boxing.”

Topic starts at 5:56

“It’d be fantastic for the guys, both getting paid, both going to put on a show,” he added. “I just don’t know what’s not to like? 

“Okay, [Tyson’s] 57-years-old, but he’s a former undisputed world heavyweight king, and [Paul] plays computers for a living and he’s come to boxing about a year ago. So, [a] pretty even match!

“From being a kid on the Disney Channel to fighting Mike Tyson. Who wouldn’t want to do that?

“People say, ‘Oh, it’s s***’, this, that and the other. But, I bet they still watch it. Who’s not intrigued?”

Fury, meanwhile, is gearing up for his fight with Oleksandr Usyk on May, 18. The initial February date for the bout was postponed after Fury suffered a freak injury in sparring that left him with a cut eye needing 11 stitches.

But the Gypsy King has promised fans that he will be fighting no matter what, after he provided an update on the injury ahead of Anthony Joshua’s demolition of Francis Ngannou.