Jake Paul’s decision to step into the ring with Mike Tyson, 57, not only surprised fans, but also the budding cruiserweight’s father.
Paul, 30 years Tyson’s junior, shared a candid video of himself revealing his planned fight to his father, a lifelong Iron Mike fan.
‘When you were a kid, who was your favorite boxer?’ The YouTuber turned boxer is seen asking his father, Greg.
“Mike Tyson,” the 60-year-old responded.
‘Mike, right?’ Jake asked again.
Jake Paul’s decision to step into the ring with Mike Tyson, 57, not only surprised fans, but also the budding cruiserweight’s father, Greg (left).
The fight, which will take place on July 20, will be the last sporting event that Netflix has organized recently.
The eldest Paul was more forceful the second time: ‘Fuck, yes. Why did you ask it?
That’s when Jake revealed to his father the news that has since rocked the boxing world.
“Because um… I’m going to fight him,” Jake said nervously.
“No way,” Greg reacted, adding a “friend” for good measure.
Jake went on to include the platform (‘Netflix’) and the month (‘July’), thus turning the video clip into an effective promotion for July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
‘Are you kidding?’ Jake’s incredulous father continued. “He’ll be the toughest son of a bitch you’ve ever fought.”
Jake couldn’t help but admit that his father was right: ‘I know. Dude, my God. I’m going crazy.’
Jake Paul shared a video of Mike Tyson training ahead of his impressive boxing fight in July.
Paul is 9-1 as a boxer, fighting primarily at cruiserweight against a number of rookies, including former NBA star Nate Robinson and converted MMA fighters like Tyron Woodley and Nate Diaz.
Against natural boxers, Paul is just 1-1, including his 2023 loss to Tommy Fury.
Paul was hoping to legitimize himself by fighting Tyson, but that will be a tough sell to the boxing public.
Not only did Tyson retire in 2005, he went 1-3 in his last four fights, including ugly losses to middle heavyweights like Kevin McBride and Danny Williams.
As part of the build-up to the fight, Paul posted footage of Tyson training and claimed they were taken just “two weeks ago.”
‘The Problem Child’ wrote: ”He is the greatest heavyweight of all time… the cruelest knockout artist of all time. But I’m younger, I’m faster and I’m going to work hard to get stronger.”
‘A member of my team sent me this video that Mike’s trainer put on two weeks ago and asked me if I’m sure I want to do this… yes, yes I do. Heavyweight.’
However, its publication on X was immediately affected by a community note informing users that the images were from four years ago.
Then, shortly after, another account took to the online platform to confirm that the footage was incredibly dated and even shared an old clip of Tyson talking about training.
Fans found an old clip of an interview in which Tyson talked about the sparring footage and admitted he was left “in bed for a week” after filming the workout.
During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Tyson said: ‘Do you want me to tell you something about that video? I made that video and I was in bed for a week.
‘It was 30 seconds and I was in bed for a week. And isn’t it funny because he made me realize this is some big boy shit, okay?’
Fellow boxers, as well as several promoters, were stunned by the fight announcement, including Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn.
“For me it’s really sad because Mike Tyson was one of my idols growing up, and to see him fight at 57, 58… but I also understand that a lot of people are going to tune in and watch it,” Hearn told Mail Sport.
‘It’s an entertainment event, Netflix, it’s great to see them involved in boxing. I think he will do very well. But it’s not really something for me.