Meet Mike Tyson’s sparring partners ahead of Jake Paul fight

Corrections and clarifications: In an earlier version of this story, the name of Jett Blackwell’s trainer was misspelled. His name is Frank Aleman.
This story has been updated with a correction and new information.
Mike Tyson isn’t the only boxer working out in his gym these days.
In preparation for his Nov. 15 bout against Jake Paul, Tyson has brought in three sparring partners he used to get ready for his exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports. They were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the team.
Two of the sparring partners are heavyweights, Mike Russell and Jett Blackwell, and the third is a super welterweight, Ronald Cruz. At 58, Tyson is 25 years older than his sparring partners.
Video that recently surfaced on social media shows Russell shadow boxing at Tyson’s gym and Blackwell working a heavy bag in the Las Vegas-area facility.
Tyson recently told USA TODAY Sports he’s sparring six to seven rounds per session. That’s also how it worked when he was preparing to fight Jones, said Cruz’s former trainer, Edgar Ponce. During sparring sessions at the training camp in 2020, Ponce said, Tyson sparred against the two heavyweights and finished up sessions against Cruz, who weighed in as 152 pounds for his last fight.
“He used (Cruz) at the end when he was tired, and (Tyson) was still fast,’’ Ponce said. “He used all of them for different things.’’
Tyson and members of his training team did not respond to an interview request through Tyson’s publicist, and the sparring partners had to sign waivers, according to the person with knowledge of the setup.
USA TODAY Sports provides a look at all three:
Russell, 6-1, has fought as a heavyweight and cruiserweight (190 pounds). Last year he worked as a sparring partner for Nate Diaz in preparation for Diaz’s fight against Paul.
Diaz lost the 10-round fight by unanimous decision in August 2023 and at the post-fight news conference he mentioned Russell, who lives in northern California.
“(Paul) hits hard and fast, but it ain’t nothing I haven’t seen before,’’ Diaz said. “…I’ve trained with Mike Russell at this camp and he’s a big guy, but these guys can throw down.’’
In a 2020 interview with EsNews, Russell said, “I’m known for my speed.’’ He’s also shown flashes of power, scoring a first-round knockout in his pro debut. He’s 5-1 with three knockouts as a pro.
Jett Blackwell was only 19 when he was sparring with Tyson before the exhibition with Jones and still was fighting as an amateur. Now he’s 3-0-1 as a pro and scheduled to fight again Nov. 16, the day after Tyson is scheduled to fight Paul.
“He’s a big heavyweight, but he fights on his feet and his hands are fast,’’ said Frank Aleman, who trains Blackwell. He said Blackwell has been in Tyson’s camp for a month.
Blackwell, who lives in Fresno, California, did not respond to an interview request from USA TODAY sent by text but in May he told Boxing Scene, “I feel people underestimate me because of my size and how I look. I feel like every fight I am underestimated. I have never been a real muscular guy.”
Recalling his time sparring with Tyson in 2020, Blackwell also told Boxing Scene, “I couldn’t believe I was there, it was unreal. There weren’t a lot of boxing people at that camp. It was mostly celebrities and movie stars. It showed me what that lifestyle is like.”
In May, Cruz fought on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia fight. He lost that bout to Vito Mielnicki Jr. by unanimous decision and is 19-4-1 as a pro.
Though the 5-9 Cruz got knocked down twice in the 10-round fight, a video clip on his Instagram page shows Cruz fighting competitively in the final round.
During an interview with TK Boxing Podcast, Cruz recalled his first day in Tyson’s 2020 training camp when another boxer lost his tooth while sparring with Tyson. (Russell also has spoken of the missing tooth, and long lost sparring partner.)
Another time Cruz lauded Tyson’s head movement and power.
“It felt like he was trying not to hurt me, but he still sent me flying,’’ Cruz told EsNews.
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