Jake Paul has warned Mike Tyson not to ‘underestimate’ him ahead of their clash in July – by making reference to one of Iron Mike’s most notorious moments.
Tyson and Paul left fans stunned with an announcement that they would fight in Dallas on July 20 in an exhibition streamed live on Netflix, despite an age gap of 30 years between the 27-year-old influencer and the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
In an interview ahead of the fight, as they both prepare for the streamed event broadcast globally from Arlington, Texas, Paul alluded to one moment in Tyson’s career, back in 1997, just months after the YouTuber was born.
‘He can’t bite my ear off if I’ve knocked the teeth out of his mouth,’ Paul told FOX. ‘I really think he underestimates me.’
Tyson was disqualified in a June 1997 rematch for biting Evander Holyfield’s right ear so hard that it removed a portion of the appendage, causing the temporary loss of his boxing license.
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Mike Tyson and Jake Paul will face each other this summer in an exhibition aired live on Netflix
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Paul said Tyson won’t have the teeth to bite his ear like he did with Evander Holyfield in 1997
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Boxing legend Lennox Lewis said Tyson’s Netflix showdown with Paul would be ‘a great fight’
Paul, who was born in January 1997, added: ‘He is much stronger, but I am fresh. He is experienced. I’m smart in the ring, but maybe he’s even smarter. It will be very interesting.’
Tyson’s last official bout was in 2005, whilst YouTube influencer Paul has been a pro boxer since 2020.
Tyson claimed he was ‘scared to death’, but added: ‘This is a guy who’s going to try and hurt me, which I’m accustomed to, and he’s going to be greatly mistaken.’
Lennox Lewis, another former heavyweight champion of the world, told TMZ last month: ‘It’s going to be a great fight, I am looking forward to it.
‘No [I’m not upset about it not being a professional bout], because I would feel really bad for Jake Paul. I don’t want him to get hurt.’
The surprising match-up is being held at the 80,000-seater AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Last month, Tyson made a promotional blitz for his ‘Mike Bites’ weed gummies in the shape of an ear, one of which has a chunk of the top ripped off of it.
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Tyson is selling weed gummies shaped like a half-bitten ear, in a callback to the Holyfield fight
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Tyson wrote ‘We’ve come a long way since the bite fight’ after a picture together in February
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Tyson and Holyfield posed for a picture together in February, having buried the hatchet 27 years after their infamous clash in Las Vegas.
Iron Mike added the caption: ‘We’ve come a long way since the bite fight’.
