Mike Tyson may have to undergo special medical tests to fight Jake Paul: Here's what the 30-year age difference could mean
Mike Tyson's health may very well determine the nature of his upcoming bout with Jake Paul, as he must undergo an electroencephalogram (EEG) to identify any brain disorders, as well as an electrocardiogram (EKG) to search for any heart-related issues.
Both tests are hard requirements for fighters over the age of 36, which consequently means that Tyson must yield favorable results when tested. Not only will he be 58 years old to Paul's 27 come fight night, he is also a veteran of 58 professional boxing matches and has absorbed a tremendous amount of damage.
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While the state of his brain will be of significant concern to doctors ahead of the fight, so will his cardiovascular well-being, which will be of specific interest given his age. The aorta, the main artery from the heart, which is tasked with carrying oxygenated blood to other parts of the body, changes with aging.
Specifically, in old age, the aorta thickens and grows stiffer, losing its elasticity and other structural and mechanical changes that render Tyson far more susceptible to heart-related health issues. Tyson's boxing match with Paul could be downgraded depending on the doctors' findings from the EEG and EKG.
Instead of a professional bout, it could be made into an exhibition match with 16-ounce gloves instead of 10-ounce gloves, no official judges to score the bout, and two-minute rounds as opposed to five. For now, however, 'The Problem Child' has insisted that his bout with Tyson will not be an exhibition.
Unfortunately, given the legendary boxer's soon-to-be 31-year age difference from him, Paul's assertions could prove meaningless.
Mike Tyson's previous boxing match was an exhibition
'Iron Mike' retired back in 2005 on a two-fight losing streak that saw him get stopped twice consecutively. However, he returned to boxing under an exhibition rule set in 2020 when he took on fellow legendary pugilist Roy Jones Jr. in a highly successful boxing match.
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'Iron Mike' was widely praised for performing far better than expected, and the entire event sold over 1.6 million pay-per-view buys, which generated over $80 million in pay-per-view revenue.