Mike Tyson has spilled the beans on Jake Paul’s reaction when the legendary heavyweight champ first challenged the YouTube sensation to a fight nearly four years ago. The much-anticipated clash is set for Friday night at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, with a staggering 80,000 fans expected to attend.
The original July face-off was postponed due to Tyson suffering an ulcer flare-up during a flight. Despite the rescheduling, there’s been criticism over the decision to proceed with the bout, with many worried about Tyson’s wellbeing as he enters the ring at 58.
Tyson himself admitted to mobility issues after training, confessing at a Cage Wars event, “It’s hard to walk right now,” but remained optimistic, stating, “But two months from now I’m going to be perfect. The fight is won in the gym.”
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He also expressed his determination to overcome any obstacle, saying, “Listen, I’ll do anything that will help me. I’m going to enjoy my time here tonight with all my childhood friends, and the hell with Jake Paul.”
In a candid conversation with Interview Magazine, Tyson revealed Paul’s initial surprise at the challenge, recounting, “Well at first he was saying, ‘you really want to do it?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘okay, let’s do it.’ Just like that, real simple.”
Paul has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism since accepting the fight. However, when Tyson was asked about his thoughts on the social media star stepping into the boxing ring, ‘Iron Mike’ stated: “Whenever you’re doing something right, there’s always going to be haters, okay? If you don’t have any haters, you have nothing. Hate attracts more money than love, I’ve noticed in my career.”
While many believe that Paul will win simply because he’s the younger fighter, Tyson is firm in his belief that ‘The Problem Child’ doesn’t stand a chance against him: “I’m going to take him. I’m not anticipating going there and getting my a** kicked, no.” With only a few days left until the fight, some fans think the 58 year old isn’t taking the fight seriously.
During a recent conversation with Jimmy Kimmel, ‘Iron Mike’ claimed he was training six hours a day. “I am training extremely hard, I do six hours a day. I start at 11am and might leave the gym at 5pm,” he shared.
Kimmel looked shocked and responded: “Oh no. 11am? So that’s six hours straight, or is there a lunch break? ” The former heavyweight champion admitted there was a small break as a surprised Kimmel exclaimed: “Oh no.”