Anticipation builds for Tyson-Paul fight with a slap during weigh-in: "Now it's personal"
NORTH TEXAS — The fight isn't until Friday night. But Mike Tyson apparently didn't get the message during the weigh-in before his return to the boxing ring on Friday at AT&T Stadium.
The boxing legend went after his opponent in front of hundreds of onlookers.
Tyson appeared to take offense to the way Jake 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.
When Tyson stepped off the scale to face off with Paul, fists were flying and the main event started early with the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion throwing a punch at the social media superstar turned boxer.
"Now it's personal," Paul screamed into a microphone before storming off the stage. Paul weighed 227 pounds.
It fired up the large crowd inside Toyota Music Factory where fans have come from as far away as North Dakota.
"I just want to see Jake Paul lying on the canvas," said Dylan Stephens, of Grand Forks, North Dakota. "I'm hoping Mike Tyson is the one to do it."
After the weigh-in, Former Heavyweight Champion Evander Holyfield, who famously lost a piece of his ear in a bout with Tyson, wouldn't say who he thinks will win the Friday night fight.
"Whoever wins," Holyfield said. "The guy that wins."
Holyfield may not have a prediction, but 8 of the 11 fighters on the undercard, believe it or not, pick Tyson to win in his highly anticipated return to the ring.
"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.
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.
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. He last fought in an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. with no fans during the pandemic in 2020.
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.
Promoter Nakisa Bidarian, who co-founded Most Valuable Promotions with Paul, said Tyson was cleared medically weeks ago. Bidarian sidestepped a question of how concerned he was for Tyson's health once he steps in the ring.
"I'm nervous for both men," Bidarian said. "The reality is Jake's never been hit by someone like Mike Tyson flush on the chin. And Mike hasn't fought someone like Jake for a very long time. That's what makes this interesting."
Friendship is said to be at the heart of how the Tyson-Paul fight came together.
Paul said he had a vision for the fight about two years ago and shared it with Tyson because he thought the Hall of Famer would understand — and be interested. It took about that long for the bout to come together.
Asked about the friendship earlier in the week, Tyson said, "There's no feeling attached." He proved it with the weigh-in slap.
Tyson appeared agitated at both hype events with fans in the Dallas area, first in the weeks before the originally scheduled fight and again at a news conference two nights before the bout.
He was more reflective in a smaller setting with reporters, suggesting he wasn't the same foul-mouthed, scowling fighter from his prime.
"I've been through so many ups and downs since my last fight with Kevin McBride," Tyson said. "I've been in rehab. I've been in prison, been locked up. Never in a million years did I believe I'd be doing this."
According to reports, Paul will get $40 million for the fight, a number he mentioned at another news conference in New York in August.
Tyson, who had two stints in prison over convictions in the 1990s for rape and assault and declared bankruptcy 21 years ago, will get $20 million. He has said he isn't doing the fight for money.
"That old Mike Tyson ... he doesn't have no more purpose in my life. He just doesn't exist," Tyson said. "I'm having a good time in my life. I don't have much time left, so I'm having the best time of my life."
Several states wouldn't sanction the bout. Texas agreed to a fight that was eight rounds instead of 10 or 12, with two-minute rounds instead of three, and heavier gloves designed to lessen the power of punches.
Paul has faced persistent questions about why he would fight someone so much older, regardless of Tyson's pedigree. His answers have been consistent.
"I say talk to Mike and tell Mike that," Paul said. "He's the one that wanted it to be a pro fight and me, as a young person in this sport, is not going to (pass) up the opportunity to fight the GOAT of boxing. It's like Ja Morant turning down a 1-v-1 against LeBron. It's not going to happen."
There is a high-profile championship fight on the card — the co-main event of Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano.
Paul said he wanted to give the women a spotlight after their slugfest at sold-out Madison Square Garden in 2022. It was the first time women headlined a boxing event at the famous venue.
Taylor won a split decision that many questioned. Bidarian and Paul say the rematch for the undisputed super lightweight title will be the most lucrative women's sporting event in history.
"A lot of people said the real main event is Taylor-Serrano," Bidarian said. "I'm OK if you feel that way. Jake has said he's more excited about that fight than his own fight. But we wanted to ensure the most eyeballs got to see that fight. To be quite honest with ourselves, Paul-Tyson draws a bigger audience."