Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion known as the “Baddest Man on the Planet,” wasted no time making a bold statement as he clashed with Jake Paul at Thursday’s weigh-in in Arlington, Texas. At 58 years old, Tyson is preparing for his first professional fight in nearly two decades against Paul, the social media influencer turned boxer, in a highly anticipated match at AT&T Stadium on Friday.
The tension between the two was palpable as Tyson, weighing in at 228.4 pounds, approached Paul and immediately slapped the 27-year-old boxer in the face. Tyson then walked off the stage with a brief, yet intense, remark: “Talking’s over.”
Paul, weighing 227.2 pounds, responded with an expletive-filled rant, vowing to defeat Tyson in what he called a personal grudge match. “He’s angry, he’s an angry little elf,” Paul said. “It’s personal now – he must die!”
This event marks Netflix’s first live boxing broadcast, as the streaming giant expands its reach into the sports world, drawing massive global attention. However, the fight has faced criticism, with British promoter Eddie Hearn calling it “dangerous, irresponsible, and disrespectful to boxing.”
Tyson, despite his controversial past, including a 1992 rape conviction, has expressed that this fight isn’t motivated by financial gain. In a recent interview with Reuters, he emphasized, “My life is not going to change, not one percentage after this fight. We will always be able to live this way. I’m just doing it because I want to test myself.”
