Lennox Lewis has issued a word of concern for Jake Paul before the 27-year-old steps into the ring to fight Mike Tyson on July 20, despite Tyson fighting just once in 20 years.

Lewis, who was the last undisputed heavyweight champion in boxing, is regarded as one of the finest fighters ever and the best British fighter of all-time. That means he knows what he’s talking about and he called for Paul to be very weary of Tyson’s power.

Tyson’s preparing for his first professional fight since 2005 and there has been a wealth of concern about his long-term health if he sustains a series of head blows at the age of 58, but Lewis is looking at it differently as he worries for the inexperienced Paul.

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“I’m concerned for Jake Paul,” Lewis told The Guardian. “Tyson still knows how to punch, as you can see when he’s hitting a bag.

“If Jake Paul gets hit by one of those punches, he’s going to feel it. I know Jake Paul doesn’t want to get hit. Tyson comes forward and he knows how to cut off the ring. It could be a matter of time, as how good is Jake Paul’s defence?

“I saw Mike a couple of weeks ago and he looked good. He was walking around without a shirt and showing off his body so he’s getting ready.”

The fight will take place on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will be streamed by Netflix for the first time ever, but the most interesting details are in the rules for the officially sanctioned professional fight.

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The pair will compete in eight, two-minute rounds and will use 140z gloves. This is different to the typical regulation of 12, three-minute round fights with 10oz gloves. The glove change means that the gloves will be softer and cushioned whilst heavier, meaning the fighters will also lose speed in throwing.

How did Lennox Lewis stop Mike Tyson? Can Jake Paul get tips?

Lewis has stepped into the ring to face Tyson once, and he emerged unscathed and victorious, so how did it happen? Can Jake Paul get any tips from watching The Lion’s fight in 2002, titled Lewis-Tyson: Is on?

On the night in Memphis, Tennessee, Lewis dominated the bout, showcasing his superior boxing skills and strategy. He utilized his height and reach advantage effectively, keeping Tyson at bay with his jab and landing powerful combinations.

RELATED :EXCLUSIVE :Jake Paul predicts Mike Tyson fight will end in death in controversial message

Tyson struggled to find his rhythm and was unable to mount any significant offense and in the eighth round, Lewis unleashed a barrage of punches that overwhelmed Tyson, leading to a knockdown.

Despite Tyson’s efforts to continue, the referee stopped the fight, declaring Lennox Lewis the winner by technical knockout. It was a decisive victory for Lewis, solidifying his status as one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time.

UPDATE :EXCLUSIVE: Boxing in danger of becoming a circus after Mike Tyson fight with Jake Paul sanctioned

Although a question will always remain, what would have happened if Tyson had been at his peak instead of at the end of his career?

Mike Tyson’s loss to Lennox Lewis marked the end of his time as an elite-level heavyweight boxer, but the beginning of his unlikely renaissance with the sporting public.

Everything aligned that June in 2002 when two of the division’s greats collided, which ultimately created a personal and professional rock bottom for Tyson.

Struggling with drink, drugs, debt, lawsuits, depression and rage, the then 35-year-old had the last remnants of his ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ reputation crushed by Lewis as the hotly-anticipated showdown ended in a one-sided beating and knockout.

READ NEXT :Jake Paul reiterates respect for Mike Tyson but says he has to end him during July fight

But Tyson’s courage in the ring and his gracious behaviour afterwards were the first steps on his public recovery. A path that led from hangovers to ‘The Hangover’; and from being a pariah to one of the most popular ex-sportspeople on the planet at 57 – an age many thought Tyson would never reach. Least of all himself, many years earlier.

The bad blood before the Lewis-Tyson fight had been intense. “I want your heart, I want to eat his children,” snarled Tyson about a then child-less Lewis after his first-round KO of Lou Savarese in Glasgow. When the pair later came face-to-face to promote their contest, Tyson stalked across the stage to attack Lewis.

“Put him in a straight jacket!” shouted a member of the media, prompting an expletive-filled rant from ‘Iron Mike’ – one that you probably wouldn’t want your own mother to hear, let alone a watching worldwide TV audience. Tyson’s actions were so outrageous that even Las Vegas – ‘Sin City’ itself – voted against staging a fight that would be the biggest PPV hit of its era, selling 1.95million buys in the USA alone.

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Instead Tyson’s challenge for Lewis’s world titles took place in Memphis, Tennessee. Except it wasn’t much of a challenge. After a lively first round, Tyson – who had peaked at a far younger age than his opponent – ground to a halt under a steady barrage of Lewis jabs and uppercuts. In the eighth round, with Tyson bleeding over both eyes and from the nose, Lewis finally knocked him out with a booming right hand.

Tyson, the vulgar street thug, who was jailed for rape, had been vanquished in his last heavyweight title fight. Yet in the aftermath, public opinion was already turning his way. As Lewis and Tyson paid one another respect in the ring, ‘Iron Mike’ admitted that his pre-fight insults were just part of the hype, pausing to gently wipe away blood from Lewis’s face mid-interview. The man who had wanted to eat Lewis’s kids was now telling him how much he loved the Brit and his mother.

“The little gesture of me wiping the blood off Lennox’s cheek was seized on by all the boxing writers,” Tyson said later. “They thought that I had been heroic in defeat. And for the first time, a lot of them started to see the human side behind my facade.”

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In his changing room post-fight Tyson was interviewed again, this time cradling his young baby Miguel in his arms. “Daddy had a bad day at the office,” Tyson replied when playfully asked what Miguel made of the fight.

Lennox Lewis has spoken of his excitement at seeing former rival Mike Tyson return to the ring.

The retired heavyweight legend recently sent shockwaves through the boxing world by announcing he will fight Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium in Texas on July 20.