Mike Tyson showed that he’s still capable of a bit of trash talk as he took aim at Jake Paul during a tense press conference on Thursday night ahead of their fight on July 20.
The pair traded insults and expletives in Texas as they previewed their bout close to the 80,000-seat home of the Dallas Cowboys that will stage it.
Much has been made of the fact that former heavyweight champion Tyson is 57 years old while Paul is just 27 and in his ‘prime’.
However, Tyson dismissed the idea of Paul being at his peak, saying the YouTuber turned boxer is out of shape.
‘I don’t know if he’s in his prime. He’s fat,’ Tyson said with a raucous crowd cheering him on. ‘He should be lean and mean. He’s fat and funky.
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Mike Tyson labelled Jake Paul ‘fat’ during Thursday’s press conference in Arlington, Texas
‘I saw him with his shirt off the other day, he’s fat. Did you start training already?’
Paul quickly hit back, reminding Tyson that people said the same thing about Buster Douglas in 1990 before he handed him the first defeat of his professional career.
‘Buster was fat and I’m better,’ he said. ‘I’m going to end you quicker than he did and you’re going to remember that forever.
‘You started me off, I appreciate that Mike. I love you, I love you like a father loves his son, but I must discipline you. You’re going down old man,’ Jake Paul concluded.
Earlier in the press conference, Paul warned: ‘I promise people that next July 20 I will put Mike to sleep.
‘He will feel all my power and in the end I will be the man who put Tyson to sleep for the last time. I am going to teach you how to box.’
The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation is sanctioning the fight as a professional bout, but it will be eight two-minute rounds instead of 10 or 12 rounds lasting three minutes each. The gloves will be heavier (14 ounces instead of 10), which is supposed to reduce the power of punches.
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Paul reminded Tyson that people said the same about Buster Douglas before he beat him
Tyson retired in 2005, but most recently fought in an exhibition in November 2000 against Roy Jones in California, which wouldn’t declare it a pro fight.
Netflix is carrying the fight live, a first for the streaming platform. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano are the co-main event in a rematch of their slugfest at Madison Square Garden two years ago.
Paul built a significant fan following as a YouTube influencer before he embarked on a professional boxing career four years ago. Tyson was the undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987-90.
