Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul: A Biomechanical Perspective

Everyone is focused on the age difference... but I think that's almost irrelevant.

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Lately there is a ton of stuff online about the upcoming fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.

The fight is afterall tomorrow on Netflix and is drawing tons of attention now that we’ve settled that US election stuff.

Being 47 years old I have of course grown up with Mike Tyson. Hell I played Mike Tyson’s Punchout on my Nintendo growing up.

And watched all of the iconic fights of that time like Mike vs. Buster Douglas, Larry Holmes, Holyfied, etc.

Plus I really love Mike of late. He appears frequently on podcasts like Joe Rogan and even had his own for awhile. I find him to be a great guy with very healthy neurology.

But i’m also a bit of a closet fan of the Paul brothers… Logan and Jake.

I of course blame it on my 10-year old son who got me into watching Youtubers a few years ago and gaining a respect for their craft.

And Jake to me is just a solid entertainer and businessman.

The guy knows how to put on a show and make money. And so from that perspective this controversial fight was a terrific idea.

But today i’m going to talk less about about them as fighters and more just from my biomechanical perspective.

Because let’s be honest… my opinion of them as fighters is not really worth much.

And this is a blog about biomechanics. Haha

But I also don’t want to write only about serious stuff all of the time as that would be boring. So let’s spice it up and begin :)

People are making a big deal about the age difference

Everyone's freaking out about Tyson being 57 while Jake Paul is only 27. The betting odds and all the boxing "experts" are focused on this 30-year age gap like it's the deciding factor.

But they're missing what really matters - Tyson's skull and spine are still in amazing shape.

I was watching recent videos of him hitting the pads. His neck is still in solid shape and his skull still has that ‘inflated’ structure, which marks the top athletes.

This is in direct contrast to other top fighters that are around his age like Roy Jones Jr (just 55). Roy would get his butt kicked by Jake Paul in my view.

Because his neck and skull have degraded quite a bit. Poor Roy is probably grinding down his teeth a lot faster than Mike is.

Why? I’m not really sure to be honest. lol

But Mike’s skull and body have maintained their structural integrity far better than Roy. That much is clear.

I believe in the future age will mean next to nothing

Now it sounds like a cliche - but to me age really is just a number.

There is no genetically programmed cycle of your cells based on age. It is why there are some 90 year olds that are in far better shape than 20 year olds.

What matters is the state of your skeleton, which is a function of the soft tissue that covers it. And that is in turn a function of your teeth and the health of your curve of spee.

Once we understand these biomechanics better, a 58-year-old can absolutely be as quick and powerful as someone at 27.

Hell I have a feeling once we have this stuff down in some years.. you will see 70 year olds fighting 20-year olds and it will just feel ‘normal’. Because there is no true handicap based on age.

And so people won't even talk about age differences in sports because they'll understand it's irrelevant.

It's all about structural integrity. If your skull hasn't deflated and your spine hasn't twisted, you maintain your athleticism regardless of your age.

So the question is how do their skeletons compare?

Looking at Jake Paul, he's got very solid structure. His cervical spine is in very good shape as you can tell from the quality of his side profile.

Some folks point to pictures where he looks a bit chubby, but the shape of the body is far more important. And while he may have a few extra pounds, the shape of his body is still very powerful.

Many folks actually misunderstand body shapes. They automatically assume that skinny is better.

And that is not the case at all.

Top athletes with amazing spines almost always put on small bellies when they let themselves go a bit. But their spines are still in teriffic shape. As you can see here with Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter.

Usain can shed this belly easily and still be fast as shit.

But if instead you see Usain skinny with no ass and a poor side profile, you know that he has completely lost his explosive speed.

Tyson's structure, while not quite what it was in his prime, is still very solid.

I actually don't know who is going to win

Here's my honest assessment - Jake probably has slightly better structure at this point, but not because of age.

But Tyson has vastly more experience and technical skill.

So it should be interesting.

I think it can go either way.

But my money is actually with Jake.

Closing thoughts

The media will make this all about age - "Can a 58-year-old man compete with a 27-year-old?" But they're asking the wrong question.

The real question is: "How do their skeletons and skulls compare?" Because that's what determines explosive power, reaction time, and durability in a fight.

Look at Bernard Hopkins - he was still winning world titles at 49 and retired only at age 51.

Why? Because his structure stayed solid. Meanwhile, you see plenty of fighters who are shot by 30 because their structure has degraded.

So when you watch this fight, don't focus on their ages. Look at their necks, their skull definition, how fluid their movement is. That'll tell you way more about who has the advantage than any number on their birth certificate.

And remember - in 50 years when we understand these biomechanics better, fights between 58-year-olds and 27-year-olds won't even raise eyebrows. Because we'll understand that age is just a number, but structure is everything.