These Videos of Mike Tyson Training for Jake Paul Should Strike Fear into the Hearts of Men

Like Marty Mush last week when this fight was first announced, I was skeptical. And not in the same way as all the memes that immediately followed seemed to suggest, that Jake Paul is not a legitimate fighter:

Were it any other of a billion people who first became YouTube famous, I'd agree with the skeptics. I'd say Paul belongs on Dancing With the Stars, not climbing into the ring. Especially not against a man who was carved out of a 220 lb solid block of pure menace and created a reign of terror the likes of which the world had never seen before. But Paul removed any and all doubt regarding his legitimacy 10 bouts, 9 wins and 6 KOs ago.

No, like Mr. Mush I was skeptical for the obvious reason there's a 30 years age gap involved here. Paul was born in January of 1997. To put that in perspective, he came down the birth canal between Tyson-Holyfield I (the one where Evander Holyfield came out of retirement to win back the WBA heavyweight belt) and Tyson-Holyfield II (when Tyson bit Holyfield's ear off). So it's not at all unfair to consider this match a gimmicky farce. Nothing more than Rocky Balboa vs. Mason "The Line" Dixon:

… that would never be sanctioned in a sane reality that isn't governed by the illogic of Hollywood sequels.

And I still thought that. Until today. Until videos came out of Iron Mike's first day of training:

Let me repeat: This is Tyson on Day 1. Proving once again he is not like mortal men. We used to say Father Time is undefeated, but he's definitely on the ropes against Tyson and losing on all three judges' cards. Look at the speed. The power. The agility. The way he sticks and moves. Most guys at the age of 57 need to stretch before they mow the lawn. He's one day out of retirement and looks like he's about 75% of where he was when he dismantled Trevor Berbick for his first title at the age of 20. 

To repeat, this is no knock on Jake Paul. But you can't watch these clips and not agree with Joe Rogan:

If nothing else, it looks like we'll have a fight on our hands. Which I was something I never thought I'd be saying a week ago. July 20th can't come soon enough.