Former World Lightweight Champion Anthony Crolla looks at the upcoming ‘silly season’ featuring Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather before the return of some proper action.
They call this time of year ‘Silly Season,’ and I think it’s certainly the case in the world of boxing! This week we’ve seen a legend in Mike Tyson getting involved in shenanigans at a press event with Jake Paul, and another of the all-time greats, Floyd Mayweather, is about to get in the ring again – against John Gotti III!
Gotti is the grandson of the infamous mob boss of the same name, and I look at this kind of contest the same way I look at the Misfits stuff and any other influencer boxing. Someone is paying Floyd a stupid amount of money and it’s an easy pay day for an exhibition bout. That’s the only reason he’d do it, but I can never understand the market for this kind of spectacle. If you’re a boxing fan, why would you watch that when you can go on YouTube and look at one of his old fights? I’ll never get my head around it.
The Tyson thing is pretty odd as well. The worry is a 58-year-old man getting in the ring with a young lad who can throw a punch. Paul hasn’t fought anyone of note – the only professional boxer he’s been in with is Tommy Fury – but he’s a big strong lad so it is a worry that he could actually knock Mike out. Like Floyd, Iron Mike is obviously getting paid a lot of money and in some ways, although it is a bit sad seeing him pretending to be angry at a press conference, I’d rather see that than some of the real lunacy we witnessed back in the day! I think we’ll know how this is going to go when we’re a minute into round one. I thought Tyson looked well in the exhibition with Roy Jones Jr, but this is an actual fight. I could look stupid, but I would probably edge towards Jake winning – probably on points.
Let’s not forget though, there is a proper fight on that card in November – Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in their rematch. I was privileged to be ringside for the first fight and it was one the best atmosphere’s I’ve ever experienced. I think it’s going to be very tough, but I think Katie will just scrape through again.
Before all that, there is another real fight to look forward to – and you can’t argue with TJ Doheny getting his chance against arguably the pound-for-pound best in Naoya Inoue. TJ’s been beaten a few times, but he has rebuilt and has had some great wins – he’s won his last three inside the distance, against very good fighters, and he’s done it in Japan too! That’s why he fits the bill and has got his shot against the ‘Monster’.
I don’t want to sound disrespectful to TJ, who is a former world champion, but I think most people will see it as a keep-busy fight for Inoue. I really want Doheny to give a great account of himself but it’s hard to see it not being over in the first third of the fight. Inoue is very special and very vicious. He is ruthless, he likes to go through opponents, and I think he wins inside four rounds.
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