Frank Bruno, a former heavyweight champion, has spoken out against Mike Tyson's recent boxing match with Jake Paul. Bruno, who fought Tyson twice in his career, said the fight "let the sport down" and took away from boxing's nobility.
The fight saw 58-year-old Tyson step into the ring with 27-year-old Paul for a sanctioned professional bout. Paul, who has 11 wins and 1 loss in his boxing career, won the eight-round contest by a clear decision.
During the fight, Tyson's age showed. He moved poorly and threw less than 20 punches. Paul, on the other hand, stayed mobile and kept jabbing at Tyson throughout the match.
Bruno shared his thoughts on Instagram after watching the fight:
Well it was a challenge trying to watch the fight!! It was not great was it? But if as a business deal for Mike it worked good luck to him. If it brought millions of people who don't watch boxing to watch out of interest okay but for me what was always called the Noble Sport lost a bit of its nobility.
Bruno's history with Tyson gives weight to his opinion. The two fought twice in Bruno's career. Their first match in 1989 was action-packed from the start, with both fighters throwing huge punches. Tyson won that fight by stoppage in the fifth round.
Their second fight in 1996 ended with Tyson winning by TKO in the third round, taking the WBC belt from Bruno. This loss led to Bruno's retirement from boxing.
After his fight with Paul, Tyson confirmed he's hanging up his gloves for good. The match might have brought new eyes to boxing, but for veterans like Bruno, it came at a cost to the sport's reputation.
