Mike Tyson-Jake Paul set to thrill at AT&T Stadium
NORTH TEXAS — Whether you look at the Tyson-Paul bout as a serious boxing match or a sideshow, a lot of people will have their eyes on this spectacle including as many as 60,000 in person at AT&T Stadium.
It's billed to be the most-watched combat sports event of all time.
Wednesday night, DFW got the traditional pre-match news conference, where there were questions about the legitimacy of this fight.
Hundreds of people filled the Toyota Music Factory in Irving to see all the fighters on the card Friday night. But the main event pits boxing legend Mike Tyson against social media superstar Jake Paul.
Tyson is coming out of a nearly 20-year retirement at 58 years old. He's 31 years older than Paul and the state boxing commission required rule changes to sanction the bout.
The match will be only 8 rounds of 2 minutes and the fighters will wear bigger than standard-size boxing gloves.
During the Wednesday news conference, Paul tried to taunt Tyson with some trash-talking but Tyson declined to engage.
"Yeah. It's cute," said Paul. "So I want him to be that old savage Mike. He says he's going to kill me. Is that what you're going to do, Mike? 'Cause I'm ready. I want that killer. I want the hardest match possible Friday night. And I want there to be no excuses from everyone at home when I knock him out."
Tyson, with mostly short one or two-word answers, wasn't having it.
"I'm just happy to be here," Tyson said. "I love you, too."
The 58-year-old boxing legend didn't say much other than he planned to win the upcoming bout with Paul, which is as highly controversial as it is highly anticipated.
There were cheers from the crowd when both fighters promised victory, but Tyson's subdued, checked-out demeanor seemed to be the takeaway from the night.
He clearly wasn't into hyping his own fight, much to the dismay of fans hoping to see it.