Mike Tyson’s former trainer Jeff Fenech was left “embarrassed” as the Boxing legend lost to Jake Paul in their recent fight.
“Yeah I was [surprised],” Fenech told Nine’s Today on Sunday, November 17. “I had so many people ring me and so many people lost money because of me — I’m pretty embarrassed.”
However, the Australian Boxing legend went on to praise his friend Tyson, 58, despite being defeated by 27-year-old Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday, November 15. The event streamed live on Netflix.
“It may have been a terrible fight, but what he represented and what he was trying to do isn’t just to show people he can fight, he’s trying to show people that at 58 you can work hard,” Fenech said. “He’s changed his whole life around and I think that’s what it’s about.”
He added, “The rest of the stuff far outweighs the fight.”
Fenech previously trained Tyson for several fights, including his loss to Kevin McBride in 2005 as well as his match with Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020. Fenech shared his advice for Tyson following his match against Paul, telling Today, “My advice would be that you don’t have to do that again.”
In May, Tyson had a medical emergency while Traveling from Miami to Los Angeles, which his team confirmed to Us Weekly at the time was due to an ulcer flare-up. This led to his initial match with Paul, originally set for July, being postponed until later in the year.
“He’s talking about being sick, but at 58 and working your body the way he did, it’s very difficult to stay Healthy. Sometimes you overdo it and burn your engine out,” Fenech told Today.
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“For me, I’m so proud of how Mike has changed his life around and over 100 million people watched at home,” he said. “Although all us fight people can say what a terrible fight that was, most people think what a great job Mike Tyson did.”
Despite his defeat in November, Tyson shared in a statement following the fight that he did not feel like he lost, having still gone through with the fight despite struggling with his health.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in the ring one last time,” he wrote via X on Saturday, November 16. “I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get Healthy to fight so I won.”
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