MIKE TYSON only narrowly avoided knocking out his own trainer just days before attempting to flatten Jake Paul.
The heavyweight great returns to face YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul on Friday in Texas for a clash that has attracted controversy amid the age gap.
But in their open workout to kick off fight week, Tyson attempted to put fearful fans at ease by rolling back the clock with a devastating pads display.
Iron Mike bobbed, weaved and fired off blistering combinations like he was in his 1980s prime when he first won the belt aged 20.
And MMA mastermind Rafael Cordeiro was the brave soul holding the pads and withstanding the power of boxing’s youngest heavyweight champion.
On more than on occasion Tyson was a whisker away from laying out Cordeiro with a horrifying hook.
READ MORE IN BOXING
Cordeiro was in Tyson’s corner four years ago when the ring icon returned for an exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr.
But this time around, he is back for real with the fight against Paul to be professionally sanctioned but over eight two-minute rounds.
It will be Tyson’s first real fight in almost 20 YEARS – and even he was left questioning why he signed up for it.
Tyson, 58, said: “I’m tougher than I believed I was.
Most read in Boxing
“Because actually, when I agreed to this fight and I started training, I said, ‘What the f*** was I thinking of?’
“And I finished the process and now the fight is the party. All the hard work is done.”
Paul, 27, is just 11 bouts into his pro career with just a single loss to Tommy Fury, 25, blemishing his record.
But the American social media sensation – who wore a red rooster hat – said his career begins for real with a victory over Tyson.
He told the Irving crowd: “This is the start of an amazing journey, what I’ve done so far doesn’t matter. Friday night my career starts.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
