Oscar De La Hoya Urges Jake Paul To Take Mike Tyson, Boxing Seriously

Oscar De La Hoya hopes Jake Paul doesn’t overlook Mike Tyson at all.

It was announced last week that Paul will return to the boxing ring on July 20 against former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson. It’s a fight that came out of surprise, and De La Hoya believes Paul needs to take boxing seriously and not have fights like this.

“Jake Paul, you say you want to be a world champion, you say you want to take this sport seriously – then take it seriously,” De La Hoya said to FightHype. “What is this? This is not a popularity contest. I’m actually praising Jake Paul for taking this [sport] seriously, because I really feel that if he fights the right fights and takes the right path to that world title, he can actually get there.”

Oscar De La Hoya thinks beating Mike Tyson at his age doesn’t do any good for Jake Paul. Instead, he believes Paul needs to start fighting people ranked above him, as De La Hoya doesn’t have much confidence in Tyson being able to have much success.

“I’m not sure – because it’s up to him if he can win it – but he can get there,” De La Hoya said. “But he’s not going to get there through Mike Tyson. He’s going to make a s**t-ton of money. He’s going to gain more popularity at Mike Tyson’s expense. Do I like it? No, because I love Mike Tyson… It will not be dangerous for Tyson because Tyson has been in the ring with monsters. He has a chin. I’m sure he can still go six rounds, seven rounds, eight rounds. But I’m just concerned about Tyson’s legacy.”

Jake Paul enters the fight coming off a first-round knockout win over Ryan Bourland. Before that, he scored a first-round knockout over Andre August and a decision win over Nate Diaz.

Will you be watching Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz?