Jake Paul’s decision to step into the ring with 57-year-old Mike Tyson surprised not only the fans, but also the young cruiserweight’s father.
Paul, 30 years Tyson’s junior, shared a candid video revealing his planned fight to his father – a lifelong Iron Mike fan.
“Who was your favorite boxer growing up?” The YouTuber turned boxer is seen asking his father, Greg.
“Mike Tyson,” the 60-year-old replied.
“Mike, right?” Jake asked again.
Jake Paul’s decision to step into the ring with 57-year-old Mike Tyson surprised not only fans, but also the rookie cruiserweight’s father, Greg (left).
The fight, which takes place on July 20, will be the latest sporting event that Netflix has hosted in recent memory
The eldest Paul was more forceful the second time: ‘F*** yes. Why did you ask that?’
It was then that Jake revealed to his father the news that has since rocked the boxing world.
“Because um… I’m going to fight him,” Jake said nervously.
“No way,” Greg responded, adding a “dude” for good measure.
Jake then added the platform (“Netflix”) and month (“July”), making the music video an effective promo for July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
‘Are you joking?’ Jake’s disbelieving father continued. “He’s going to be the toughest son of a bitch you ever fought.”
Jake couldn’t help but acknowledge that his father was right, “I know. Dude, holy fuck. I’m going to panic.’
Jake Paul shared a video of Mike Tyson training ahead of their stunning boxing fight in July
Paul is 9-1 as a boxer and fights primarily at cruiserweight against a range of newcomers, including former NBA star Nate Robinson and converted MMA fighters such as Tyron Woodley and Nate Diaz.
Against natural boxers, Paul is just 1-1, including his 2023 loss to Tommy Fury.
Paul was hoping to legitimize himself by fighting Tyson, but that will be a hard sell to the boxing public.
Not only did Tyson retire in 2005, but he was just 1-3 in his last four fights, including ugly losses to middle heavyweights like Kevin McBride and Danny Williams.
As part of the build-up to the fight, Paul posted footage of Tyson training, claiming it was taken just ‘two weeks ago’.
‘The Problem Child’ wrote: ‘He is the greatest heavyweight of all time… the most vicious KO artist ever. But I’m younger, I’m faster and I’m going to do my best to get stronger.”
“A member of my team sent me this video that Mike’s coach posted two weeks ago asking me if I’m sure I want to do this… yes, yes I do. Heavyweight.’
However, his post on X was immediately hit with a community note informing users that the footage was from four years ago.
Shortly afterwards, another account took to the online platform to confirm that the footage was incredibly dated and even shared an old clip of Tyson talking about the workout.
Fans found an old interview clip in which Tyson discussed the sparring footage and admitted he was ‘in bed for a week’ after filming the training
During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Tyson said, “Do you want me to tell you about that video? I made that video and was in bed for a week.
‘That was 30 seconds and I was in bed for a week. And it’s not funny because it made me realize that this is big boy s***, okay?’.
Fellow boxers, as well as a number of promoters, were stunned by the announcement of the fight, including Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn.
“For me it’s very sad because Mike Tyson was one of my idols growing up, and to see him fight at 57, 58… but I also understand that a lot of people will tune in and watch,” Hearn told Mail Sport.
“It’s an entertainment event, Netflix, great to see them involved in boxing. I think it will work very well. But it’s just not really for me.’