Amir Khan has expressed his concerns about Mike Tyson ahead of his bout with Jake Paul this weekend.

Tyson, 58, is set to step into the ring against the YouTuber-turned-pro-boxer in his first professional match since his 2005 swansong against Kevin McBride. His last bout was an exhibition clash with Roy Jones Jr in 2020 where no winner was declared after eight rounds.

The stakes are higher now as the result will count towards both Tyson and Paul’s records. Just under four months after Tyson had to withdraw from the original fight date due to an ulcer flare-up, Khan confessed his anxiety for the former world heavyweight champion.

Speaking to Prime Casino, the boxer said: “You know what, the thing is there is a lot of weight advantage and to be honest with you, Mike is a friend of mine and I FaceTime him and we speak. But when you’ve got a 65-year-old man fighting a young, at-his-peak fighter you do feel sorry – but you can’t feel too sorry for Mike Tyson because he’s taken that chance.

“I am concerned. Yeah, 100%. Every fight you go into, especially at the age he’s at [risk] Is he going to take it seriously? I think so, but how seriously is he going to take it? Everyone remembers Mike Tyson, that tough tough fighter, that great world champion, that animal of a fighter, but I don’t want a fight like this to tarnish his record because a lot of people are going to think he’s a joke.

“We don’t really want it to get to that. Fighters who have been world champions, and been up there as one of the best out there, now being beaten by YouTubers? It’s not a good look for boxing.”

Amir Khan is friends with Mike Tyson

Amir Khan is friends with Mike Tyson ( 

Image:

PA)

Tyson won 50 bouts over the course of his career, 44 of which were by way of knockout. However, he also lost six matches, three of which came in the final four fights of his career against Lennox Lewis, Danny Williams and McBride. The former heavyweight champion of the world has got into astounding shape for the bout against Paul, but the likes of Khan are still worried.

However, Lewis, who dealt Tyson one of his most devastating losses in 2002, is backing his former foe to overcome the YouTuber. He told FOX 29: “Mike Tyson’s gonna win. He’s not that old. Don’t take him too softly. We’re one year apart. You can fight somebody like that and do well, because the person you’re fighting is not a ‘true’ fighter and there’s a hundred things that you’ve forgotten that he’s learning.”