Love him or hate him, Jake Paul’s boxing match with Mike Tyson premiers this Friday at 8PM ET.

As of now, Jake Paul is favored to win the fight against Mike’s impressive fifty wins and only six losses. Forty-four of them being by knockout.

But even though Mike is 31 years older than Jake, and his last competitive fight being nearly twenty years ago, he’s still a force to be reckoned with.

For years he was the heavyweight champion of the world, and I personally believe this can be anyones match.

But if I’ve learned anything from boxing, it’s that the odds can turn in a single round.

A good example of this took place on February 11th, 1990.

At 37 wins and no losses, a young Mike Tyson accepted a boxing match against a man named Buster Douglas. At the time, Douglas had 29 wins and 4 losses under his belt so this fight was looked at like a “tune-up match.” One that didn’t really pose any threat to Mike’s perfect record.

But three weeks before the fight, Buster’s mother died of a stroke. And right before she did, Buster would later go on to say how she “knew” that he would win the fight despite going up against an undefeated champion.

The death of his mother hit him hard, but he decided to go on with the fight and channel his grief into the motivation he needed to make his mother proud.

On the day of the fight, oddsmakers put Buster’s chances at 42-1 and expected an early knockout by Mike Tyson.

But Buster would go on to shock the world by going the distance with Mike all the way until the tenth and final round.

Despite being knocked down once already, Buster kept pushing and was able to land a right uppercut and a left hook that knocked Tyson out 97 seconds before the entire match was over.

In that moment, the entire world was shocked to see the new heavyweight champion of the world being claimed by what a lot of people thought to be a nobody.

What I’m getting at is, anything can happen this Friday. When it comes to boxing, it isn’t just about who’s the strongest or who’s had the most training. It’s about who has the most determination, the fire, and will to win.

And this doesn’t just apply to boxing, it applies to every area of our lives. No matter what you’re trying to do right now, whether you’re the underdog or the most experienced person in the room, remember that it’s anyones game.

As long as you keep getting up like our man Buster, you’ll always have the chance to win.

Until next time,
Isaiah Taylor

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m now reading Manvotionals by Brett McKay. A book on timeless wisdom and advice on the virtues of being a gentleman from influential figures like Theodore Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Quote Of The Week - “My philosophy is that worrying means you suffer twice.” — Newt Scamander