Tool’s frontman Maynard James Keenan is helping train Mike Tyson, ahead of his boxing match against Jake Paul.
The announcement comes after it was revealed earlier this month that the renowned boxer would be taking on the YouTube star-turned-boxer at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Set to take place on July 20, the fight will also be live-streamed on Netflix.
Now, it has been revealed that the former Heavyweight athlete has kicked off his training programme at Keenan’s martial arts academy in Cottonwood, Arizona.
The iconic rock frontman posted a photo of himself with his wife, Lei Li Keenan, with Tyson on Instagram, confirming that he and his colleagues had been training Iron Mike at the Verde Valley BJJ martial arts school.
“Honored to have @miketyson grace our small town academy, @verdevalleybjj,” he wrote in the caption. “His Training Camp for @jakepaul vs @miketyson began under our roof. Gonna be bragging about that for a bit. Long after y’all are tired of hearing about it. Deal w it.”
The training from the Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle singer comes after he has been training for decades in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and recently earned a black belt in the sport.
It also comes on the heels of him wrapping up his winter US tour dates with Tool, and ahead of him heading out on tour again – this time with his bands A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, to celebrate his upcoming 60th birthday along with Primus. Find remaining tickets here.
As for Tool, the band are set to embark on a UK and European tour later this spring, with dates including a slot at The O2 in London on June 3. Visit here for remaining tickets.
Last month, bassist Justin Chancellor shared insight on when fans can expect to see a new record from the metal legends – confirming that it won’t take them another 13 years to release the follow-up to ‘Fear Inoculum’.
“Danny [Carey, drummer] is 62 now, so there’s no thought of taking 13 years if we’re gonna do it,” he told the outlet. “We’re gonna have to be more efficient, and we’ve been talking of ways that we can do that.”