Inside Iron Mike's Training Camp (And How to Watch The Fight)
Mike Tyson looks just about ready to rip Jake Paul's head off. The Baddest Man on the Planet, possessor of 50 professional wins from 56, with an 88% knockout record, has been back in training to silence the YouTuber-turned-boxer once-and-for-all.
Come Friday night under the lights it'll be Iron Mike's first fight since drawing with fellow former great, Roy Jones Jr, in November 2020, and first competitive bout since losing to Kevin McBride back in June 2005.
Now 58, he's more than twice the age of 27-year-old Paul. Yet, judging by clips circulating all over social media, YouTube and Netflix, you'd be forgiven for thinking he never hung up his gloves – or skipping rope – in the first place.
As we discovered four years ago, the man who made mincemeat out of Frank Bruno, Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes on route to becoming double heavyweight champion of the world, has lost none of his famed appetite for gruelling, old school workouts.
How Mike Tyson is Training for Jake Paul Grudge Match
'He's a manufactured killer. I'm a natural born killer.'
In his heyday, Iron Mike was downright terrifying. Arguably, he still is. And his training methods were similarly frightening. He was known for gruelling callisthenics-based workouts, including one totalling 500 bench dips, 500 press-ups, 500 weighted shrugs, 1,000 sit-ups and 1,000 bodyweight squats, totalling 3,500 reps.
Of course he wouldn't attempt that all in one go. That would be madness. Instead, he'd break this mountainous workload down into five or 10 bitesize chunks. Judging by videos shared on Iron Mike's Instagram, not too much has changed.
According to coach Rafael Cordeiro, who previously helped him shed a whopping 60kg for the Jones Jr. exhibition, he's been back in the gym from 8am to 6pm. Every damn day. Hitting pads, shadowboxing, pumping iron and knocking ten bells out of his unlucky sparring partners.
And it's paying off. At Thursday's weigh-in on the eve of the fight, Tyson tipped the scales at 228.4 pounds (103.6kg), heavier than in his prime when he'd hover just below 100kg, but considerably leaner than the 239 pounds (108.4kg) he finished at towards the tailend of his pro career.
Bodyweight squats still seem to form the bedrock of his routines, with several clips showing him crouched low in his iconic coiled stance, bobbing from side to side. But now he's also sprinkled in modern conditioning techniques and explosive drills to recapture his patented power.
In one video, the quinquagenarian can be seen cycling through a set of overhead presses, lying med ball throws, cable rows and neck-strengthening moves on a resistance machine.
'I've been doing this for years, since a teenager,' he says in another. "So it's just a form of anticipation. That could be a form of nervousness and fear too. But it never goes away, no matter how old you are. This is just a new era of Mike Tyson.'
How Jake Paul Bulked Up for Mike Tyson Fight
'I will beat Mike Tyson because the gods are on my side.'
Jake Paul is visibly bigger than he's ever been before, weighing in at 227 pounds (103kg), a fraction lighter than his opponent, yet the heaviest weight of his five-year pro career.
Since his sixth round TKO win over former UFC fighter-turned-bare-knuckle-boxer Mike Perry in July, the Ohio-born YouTuber has packed on a staggering 27 pounds (12.2kg).
'I'm naturally a fat kid at heart,' Paul told Men's Health in July, admitting that he grew up fuelled on Hamburger Helper and Burger King. But since turning to competitive boxing, the former Disney star has revamped his diet.
Now he mainly eats whole foods such as eggs, potatoes, steak, chicken, yoghurt and fruit. Though he's also boasted of gorging himself on lavish cuts of Japanese wagyu beef, smoked salmon and Aberdeen angus tenderloins to pile on the pounds.
To offset those all-you-can-eat indulgences and maintain speed without compromising power, Paul says he trains twice a day, five to six days a week. His first session is focused on boxing drills, footwork, and sparring, with a second for strength and conditioning or track work.
And dozens of fight promo videos with Rocky-style training montages would appear to back that up. In one video Paul is seen mixing shuttle runs, agility drills and plyometrics over hurdles, cut up with traditional boxing strength building moves like bench presses, planks and weighted neck extensions.
The younger fighter has also leaned into visualisation cues. Along with regular meditation sessions with author Lucas Mack and Onnit founder Aubrey Marus, twice a week he'll head to the beach for what he calls 'salt water cleanse boxing' to express himself and release his energy and anger.
On Friday night, you can bet he'll need every tool in his arsenal to live with Iron Mike 2.0.
Early Starts And Monstrous Reps Ranges: Mike Tyson's Gruelling Training Routine
Back in 2020 Will Tennyson, another YouTuber, took on Mike Tyson, this time by replicating the gruelling training schedule he followed in his pomp. It involved 4am runs, 2,000 squats and north of 4,000 calories.
It's unlikely this 58-year-old version of the former heavyweight champ is putting himself through exactly the same punishing routine, but given his stickler for old school training, it might not be far off.
Here's what a day in the life of Iron Mike used to look like:
4 a.m.
Wake up + 3-5 mile (4.8 - 8 km) jog – because Tyson believed his opponents were still sleeping at that time, and he liked to get ahead.
5 a.m.
Back to bed.
10 a.m.
Breakfast of porridge, milk and daily vitamins.
10.30 a.m.
Sparring: 10 rounds of 2 minutes with 45 seconds of rest between rounds.
11.00 a.m.
High-rep, low-weight workout: 2,000 bodyweight squats, 500 triceps extensions, 500 press-ups, 500 shrugs with 30kg, 500 neck extensions, 30 minutes of 'neck bridges'.
12.30 a.m.
Shower + lunch. 150g white rice, 9 oz chicken breast, large glass of orange juice.
2 p.m.
Sparring: 6 rounds + bag work + jump rope + callisthenics.
4 p.m.
Snack: 6 bananas + a protein shake
5.30 p.m.
Shadowboxing.
6.30 p.m.
Dinner: 9 oz sirloin steak with pasta and tropical juice.
7.30 p.m.
Cardio: 30-60 mins on an exercise bike.
9 p.m.
Bed.
What time is the Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight?
Mark your card: the fight, which is streaming live on Netflix from the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium in Texas, is scheduled for Friday 15th November in the States (5pm PT, 7pm CT and 8pm ET) but will kick off at 1am GMT on Saturday 16th November for UK viewers. Ring walks are expected around 4am GMT. Before that you can catch Ireland's undisputed super lightweight champion Katie Taylor against unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano.
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