Mike Tyson concedes role of villain in tonight's Jake Paul fight

Friendship is at the heart of how a fight came together between 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and much younger YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.

Friction helped build the hype for a bout that is testing the formula for how boxing is delivered to the masses, a first-ever combat sports offering from the streaming platform Netflix rather than pay-per-view or traditional cable.

“I think they’re beloved fans of Mike Tyson,” Paul said, trying to explain the boisterous boos that have greeted him when the two have appeared together in recent months to hype the event.

“And I’m the new kid on the block, the disrupter, loud mouth, polarizing figure,” Paul said. “And I’ve built my career as the heel. Naturally people want to root against me, and that’s great for the sport of boxing.”

Tyson’s first sanctioned professional fight in almost 20 years is set for Friday night at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. A crowd of at least 60,000 is expected while Netflix offers the bout at no additional cost to more than 280 million subscribers globally.

The 27-year-old Paul is relatively new to the sport, the one-time social media influencer bringing a 10-1 record with seven knockouts mostly against mixed martial artists and journeymen boxers.

Asked about the friendship earlier in the week, Tyson said, “There’s no feeling attached.” He proved it by slapping Paul as they faced off following the weigh-in Thursday night.

Tyson appeared to take offense to the way Paul approached him for the faceoff, but didn’t bother explaining. “The talk is over,” Tyson, who checked in at 228 pounds, said when one of the hosts tried to ask a question.

“Now it’s personal,” Paul screamed into a microphone before storming off the stage. Paul weighed 227 pounds.

Tyson was 50-6 with 44 knockouts when he retired after losing to Kevin McBride in 2005, saying he didn’t have anything left to give the sport. 

Asked about the friendship earlier in the week, Tyson said, “There’s no feeling attached.” He proved it by slapping Paul as they faced off following the weigh-in Thursday night.

Tyson appeared to take offense to the way Paul approached him for the faceoff, but didn’t bother explaining. “The talk is over,” Tyson, who checked in at 228 pounds, said when one of the hosts tried to ask a question.

A fight originally scheduled for July 20 was postponed when Tyson had to be treated for a stomach ulcer after falling ill on a flight.

Tyson said in a documentary chronicling the preparations for the fight that he lost 26 pounds in the process of recovering.



(AP Photo Julio Cortez)