Tony Bellew has laughed off Jake Paul’s claims that he could defeat Canelo Alvarez, ahead of his fight with Mike Tyson on Friday.
Bellew gatecrashed Wednesday’s press conference for the controversial fight between Paul and Tyson, where he ridiculed the YouTuber for taking on a near 60-year-old Tyson.
‘The Problem Child’ has stated on numerous occasions that he will one day not only fight, but beat unified super middleweight world champion Alvarez, who has only lost to Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol.
There are few if any in the boxing world who would give the 27-year-old much chance of even being competitive against the Mexican icon, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest of his generation.
And in an interview with MailSport, Bellew claimed even Paul himself doesn’t think he could upset Alvarez.
“He genuinely doesn’t believe he can beat Canelo.
“Listen, I’m 41 and past it and he couldn’t lace my gloves. He’s not fit to carry my jockstrap.
“I’m a past it, retired boxer who plays golf a few times a week and he still doesn’t have a cats’ chance in hell with me, never mind Canelo.
“Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is probably one of the best fighters I’ve ever seen, he’s that good.
“On a counter-punching level he’s probably in the top five counter punchers in the history of boxing.
“The guy’s a freak, he’s a modern day Thanos.
“Jake Paul says things for a response and a reaction. If he was serious about boxing, he’d face real active boxers.
“Or he’d face former world champions who aren’t grandfathers!”
Paul’s fight with Tyson has come under heavy criticism, with some voicing concerns about the former undisputed heavyweight world champion’s health, who had to pull out of a scheduled July 20 date due to an ulcer flare up.
Despite it being a fully licensed professional bout, the pair will wear larger gloves and fight in two minute rounds.
65,000 fans are expected to be in attendance at the AT&T Stadium, with viewership on Netflix tipped to be well into the tens of millions.
The pair ramped up the pre-fight hype at Thursday’s weigh-in with Tyson slapping his rival before being hurled away by security, as tempers boiled over.
‘Iron Mike,’ who has not boxed as a professional in almost two decades, will hope to roll back the years and become only the second man to defeat Paul.
