The man who had a fake tussle with Mike Tyson on the streets of New York wants a real one in the ring with Jake Paul.
Former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs has called out ‘The Problem Child’ ahead of his highly-anticipated clash with ‘Iron Mike’ this Friday. Briggs says that if Paul gets his hand raised at the AT&T Stadium, he’ll want to “avenge” Tyson by facing the 27-year-old himself.
“I’d fight him anyway for all of that money, but definitely, if you do something to my big bro, Mike Tyson, I want to take the fight,” ‘The Cannon’ said, speaking on behalf of Brownsville Gym & Academy, located just a stone’s throw away from where both he, 52, and Tyson, 58, grew up. “Brownsville sticks together, that’s our model. So if Mike does lose, I’ll take on Jake Paul in March,” he added.
Boxing fans have final say on whether Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson should be taking place
Mike Tyson makes emotional promise to kids ahead of Jake Paul fight
Back in April, Tyson and Briggs bumped into one another while the former was filming scenes in his old neighborhood for the preview series Netflix released as part of the build-up to the fight, which is being screened live on the streaming platform. The pair removed their tops and started light-heartedly sparring, even trading a few harmless ‘blows’ before laughing and hugging it out.
Briggs, who is one of just five men to have beaten the legendary George Foreman, trained Paul for a time and labelled the YouTube sensation, who is the bookies’ favourite to win the bout, a “tough kid”. He said: “To see him step in the ring with Mike Tyson is absolutely amazing. I was just training a kid, and for him to even be doing this, respect to him.
“Everyone wants Mike to win but I just want Mike and Jake to make a lot of money, hit the after-party together, and have a good time. At the end of the day, it’s about feeding their families.”
Paul has 10 wins from 11 professional fights so far. His only defeat came against Tommy Fury – brother of Tyson Fury – back in 2023. Tyson is the first high-profile career boxer Paul has ever faced, but one that hasn’t fought professionally for nearly 20 years.
‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’s’ last official bout came back in 2005, where he was beaten by Kevin McBride. He retired shortly after with a record of 50 wins – 44 of which were knockouts – from 58 fights and has had two exhibition bouts in the years since, one in 2006 and another in 2020.
Briggs, meanwhile, hung up his gloves in 2016, having started his career way back in 1992. He managed 60 wins from 68 fights, and held the WBO heavyweight title between 2006 and 2007.