Freddie Roach, the gym's owner and legendary trainer, shared the story with FightHype. He said, "Paul came in to the gym. [Mike] Tyson looked at him and left. He watched 30 seconds of him spar. He said 'can we go down stairs and look at the pictures on the wall?'. He wasn't interested [in watching Paul]."
This short encounter happened as Tyson and Paul get ready for their upcoming fight in November. The match was originally set for July but got pushed back due to Tyson dealing with some health issues.
The fight has got people talking because of the big age gap between the two boxers. Tyson is pushing 60 and hasn't had a pro fight since 2005. In his career, he racked up 58 fights with 50 wins, 44 of those by knockout. He made history as the youngest world champ ever at just 20 years old.
On the other side, Paul isn't even 30 yet. He's only had 11 fights, winning 10 with 7 knockouts. But most of his opponents have been new to boxing or from MMA backgrounds.
When asked about Paul's skills, Roach didn't say much. "He was OK. Tough fighter, I don't really know the person. I never really met him. They just wanted to just use my gym, use the ring," he explained.
The fight is set for eight two-minute rounds and will count on both fighters' pro records. Fans can watch it live on Netflix, making it a big deal in the world of streaming sports.
"Paul came in to the gym. [Mike] Tyson looked at him and left. He watched 30 seconds of him spar. He said 'can we go down stairs and look at the pictures on the wall?'. He wasn't interested [in watching Paul]."
This brief encounter at Roach's gym might give us a hint about how Tyson sees the upcoming fight. But with both fighters bringing such different experiences to the ring, it's hard to predict what will happen when they face off in November.