Mike Tyson lost his cool and slapped Jake Paul during their final face-off before their highly anticipated fight on Friday night.
Leading up to the fight, Tyson appeared disengaged and showed little interest, particularly at Wednesday’s press conference where he was notably silent. However, tensions flared after the ceremonial weigh-in when Paul approached Tyson on all fours during their face-off on stage, prompting Tyson to deliver a right-handed slap.
Security intervened to separate the two fighters. When host Ariel Helwani attempted to get a comment from Tyson, he simply stated: “It’s over” and walked away without explaining why he struck Paul.
Paul, on the other hand, took the incident personally, exclaiming: “It’s personal now” and insisting that the 58 year old “must die”. An irate Paul said: “I didn’t even feel it, he’s angry.”
“He’s an angry little elf and he’s getting knocked the f*** out. I’m f****** knocking him out. He hits like a b**** It’s personal now; he must die,” Paul continued.
Tyson, who weighed in at 228.4lb earlier on Thursday morning compared to Paul’s 227.2lb, succinctly remarked: “It’s time”.
The official weigh-in for Paul and Tyson had taken place earlier that day, but their weights were kept under wraps until the ceremonial event. Before the confrontation, Paul had weighed in at 227.2lbs, with Tyson coming in slightly heavier at 228.4lbs.
Earlier in the week, Paul was adamant that the fight would not last the distance. He declared: “No, someone’s getting put to sleep. It’s going to be a war and we’re both heavy hitters. It’s not going the full 16 minutes.”
At Wednesday’s press conference, Paul spoke of the event’s significance, saying: “Well, the people speak for themselves. I don’t even have to ask them. [This is the] biggest live gate in U.S. boxing history outside of Las Vegas. Numbers don’t lie. People want to see this and that’s an amazing accomplishment.”
He added: “Credit to Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano and Mike and everyone on the card as well. […] We all did this together, and this is a statement that we had the biggest live gate outside of Vegas in U.S. boxing history.”
