Boxing 'could face calls to be banned' as fears expressed ahead of Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight

There is a huge 31-year age gap between the two fighters, with many figures associated with the sport concerned that Tyson could suffer serious damage.

Though he was formidable during his prime years, it's unclear how the 58-year-old will fare when he battles his 27-year-old opponent.

Malignaggi, speaking to CanadaCasino, is concerned about the clash.

And he's now expressed fears that boxing could face calls to be banned completely if Tyson crashes to defeat.

"Head blows from young, strong guys at Mike’s age aren’t good," he said.

"When you're younger, you can handle hits better. "When you're older, your body isn’t made for that kind of damage anymore. Things could go badly wrong.

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"If something like that happened, people would be calling for the sport to be banned.

"Personally, I don’t think his fight with Jake Paul should happen. He’ll be 58 years old by then. 58 is still 58. We live in a generation that doesn’t understand aging is a real thing.

"You can show highlights of Mike from the 80s, but the guy stepping into the ring won’t be that same Mike Tyson. You’re selling pay-per-views based on nostalgia, not reality.

"The fact that the public won’t understand that is mind-boggling. Back in the 80s, they wouldn’t have done this.

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"Imagine Joe Frazier fighting in his 60s. Jake Paul might not be world-class, but he’s certainly not a novice. He’s been boxing for about five years.

"After four years of boxing, I won the U.S. National Championships, so Jake’s far from a beginner. He’s strong and young.

"Hitting someone Tyson’s age has serious risks. Tyson wasn’t taking punches well at 36, let alone now.

"If you hit a guy who's that old, it affects them. Imagine what getting hit by a strong guy like Jake would do to him. I wouldn’t want to find out."

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Netflix are set to stream the controversial clash.

Yet Malignaggi has accused the streaming service of not caring about Tyson's health.

The 43-year-old added: "It’s all about money. Netflix is sponsoring this event because it brings in dollars.

"They don’t care about Tyson’s health. It’s pure capitalism. As long as it makes pounds, dollars, or euros, that’s all they care about.

"It’s the greed of capitalism. It’s good to make money and feed people, but when you’re doing it at the expense of others, like in this case, Mike Tyson, it becomes a problem.

"Sure, they’re paying him, but they’re also risking putting him in a bad situation. I don’t like it. People aren’t in their prime when they’re almost 60 years old.

"I come across people who think Mike Tyson is going to knock Jake Paul out. And these aren’t just random people; some of them are people I’m friendly with, but they’re still idiots. We’re living in an idiot generation.

"You can only sell this stuff to people who are willing to buy it. As the quote from The Wolf of Wall Street goes, 'You’re selling garbage to garbage men,' and they’re just eating it up."