Mike Tyson slaps Jake Paul in dramatic weigh-in scenes
Footage of Mike Tyson slapping Jake Paul across the face has stunned the world, but it appears there is a simple explanation.
Footage of Mike Tyson slapping Jake Paul before their showdown on Saturday in Texas has stunned the world.
But it seems that there is a simple reason the heavyweight champ lost his cool.
As the pair faced off Paul stepped on his toe, which Tyson thinks may have been on purpose.
“I was in my socks and he had on shoes,” Tyson told the New York Post.
“He stepped on my toe because he is a f–king a–hole. I wanted to think it happened by accident. But now I think it may have happened on purpose.”
Speaking in a previous interview, Tyson revealed that he absolutely hates people stepping on his feet.
“If somebody stepped on my feet, my toes would blow up,” he said.
“It’s horrible. I’d have to tap out right away. If you spit on my feet, I’ll die. If you’d seen them, you would know why.”
Now, video has emerged of Paul squaring up to Tyson and stepping on his toes.
The bust-up came after the weigh in, with Tyson weighing in at 228.4 pounds (103.6kg), while Paul tipped the scales at 227.2 pounds (103kg).
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Drama erupted on the stage afterwards when Tyson and Paul faced off for the final time for the fight.
Paul appeared to be taunting Tyson, who immediately lost his cool and slapped the YouTuber hard across the face.
Watch Mike Tyson slap Jake Paul in the video above
MORE:Surprise winner in Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul battle
The crowd in attendance gasped and Tyson had to be held back while Paul blew kisses at him and tapped his own cheek.
“Talking’s over,” Tyson said before making his exit with members of his entourage.
Paul, the 27-year-old Youtuber-turned-boxer, insisted he had not been hurt by Tyson’s open-handed slap.
“I didn’t even feel it — he’s angry,” Paul said.
“He’s an angry little elf... cute slap buddy.”
Paul concluded his remarks with an expletive-laden pledge to knock Tyson out, before roaring theatrically into a microphone: “He must die.”
The Happy Punch account wrote on X: “MIKE TYSON JUST ROCKED JAKE PAUL IN THEIR FINAL FACE OFF.”
This is a pinch me moment. I got slapped by Mike Tyson 🤗
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 15, 2024
âš–ï¸ Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson weigh-in results:
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 15, 2024
🇺🇸 Jake Paul - 227.2lbs
🇺🇸 Mike Tyson - 228.4lbs
✅ All set for tomorrow night.
Tyson had previously opened up about his feet issues when talking about becoming a UFC fighter.
He was being quizzed on his chances of knocking out legendary jiu jitsu practitioner Royce Gracie, who famously submitted his way to victory against much larger fighters at UFC 1 in 1993.
“Well, in ‘93, I was in prison, so there wouldn’t have been a fight, but there is no way I would have won,” Tyson told UFC Tonight. “I had no idea what was going on with that type of fighting and would’ve been taken by surprise. I would have had to train in that particular art of fighting before that happened. That’s a particular art.
“You’re not going to go in there with just your hand and not have a great ground game. You also need a great wrestling game to be successful ... You have to have both games. You have to know how to wrestle and box. That’s just the truth.”
But it appears Tyson possesses a fatal flaw that would have been easily exposed in the Octagon. After initially thinking he had the physical tools to make it in MMA, the now 51-year-old realises he would have been a flop.
“I thought that too,” said Tyson, when it was suggested he could have been a UFC star during an appearance on Norm Macdonald Live.
“Then I saw Royce Gracie step on somebody’s foot. If anybody stood on my foot — I’ve got the worst feet in the world.”
The weigh-in drama sets the scene for what will be the most watched boxing fight of the year.
Nineteen years after his last fight, Tyson will climb back into the ring in a Netflix-backed bout against Paul at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.
It is an officially sanctioned fight and will feature eight two-minute rounds.
Tyson’s legacy is secured as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers the world has ever seen, but the world may not be sure how to react if he loses to a Gen Z celebrity three decades younger than him.
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MIKE TYSON VS JAKE PAUL
Meanwhile, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn believes there might be an “agreement” in place between Tyson and Paul about how the fight will pan out.
Hearn’s rival promoter Frank Warren echoed those sentiments. “Mike Tyson is 58 years of age and he shouldn’t be fighting,” Warren said after the bout was announced. “It’s as simple as that.
“Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that it is ridiculous. You can be on a motorway stuck in a traffic jam and you get to the end of it and all it is people who have stopped to look at a crash - and that’s what this is.”
What’s confusing for fans is others in the boxing fraternity believe the fix is in to protect Paul, not Tyson.
“It’s an exhibition fight. I don’t think it should be happening because Tyson is too old. I don’t think it proves anything when Jake Paul beats him, I’ve heard and believe that there is something in the contract which means Tyson can’t even try and hurt him,” said former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch.
“I’m sure if Tyson did land a big left or right hook on the chin of Jake Paul, then he could render him unconscious,” Froch added. “That’s the only chance he would have, if he could land a big shot on his chin.
“I can’t really see that happening, though. In my view it’s all fixed in advance for Paul and Tyson won’t have the opportunity to do that.”
Fenech says Tyson can win in under a minute
Aussie great Jeff Fenech also has Tyson winning - potentially inside one minute.
“I spoke to Mike,” Fenech said. “I told him what I think he should do. Don’t punch with him, don’t punch at the same time as Jake Paul. Just make him miss and make him pay.
“It could be over in 40 seconds if he lands one punch.”
“You don’t lose that power and his greatest attribute was being able to make someone miss, then make them pay,” he added.
“He’s 58, but he looks amazing and he sounds good. He’s confident. It made me really happy. “I think he’ll win pretty easily. I think he’ll knock Jake Paul out.”
How much will Mike Tyson and Jake Paul make for the fight
The fight purses for Tyson and Paul have not been publicly revealed, however boxing industry experts have estimated Iron Mike will be earning roughly A$31 million for his part in the fight.
Meanwhile at a recent news conference, Paul declared he’s “here to make $40 million (A$62m) and knock out a legend”.
Tyson’s bizarre answer to ‘legacy’ question
Mike Tyson spoke to American content creator Jazzy (@iamjazzysworldtv), a 13-year-old with more than a million followers on Instagram and Tiktok.
One snippet of their chat has gone viral after Tyson gave a deep and maybe far too meaningful answer to a question.
Jazzy began: “In your return to the ring for this fight, you are setting a monumental opportunity for kids my age to see the legend Mike Tyson in the ring for the first time.
“After such a successful career, what type of legacy would you like to leave behind when it’s all said and done?”
Tyson replied: “I don’t know, I don’t believe in the word legacy.
“I just think that’s another word for ego. Legacy doesn’t mean nothing. That’s just some word everybody grabbed onto. Someone said that word and now it’s used every five seconds.
“It means absolutely nothing to me. I’m just passing through. I’m going to die and it’s going to be over. Who cares about legacy after that. (People think) ‘I’ve got a big ego so when I die I want people to think I’m this, I’m great’.
“(No that means) nothing, we’re just dead, we’re dust, we’re absolutely nothing. Our legacy is nothing.”
Jazzy seemed momentarily lost for words, before replying: “Well thank you so much for sharing, that is something I have not heard before, someone say that as an answer.”
But Tyson kept going, saying: “Can you really imagine someone saying, ‘I want my legacy to be this’ You’re dead! Do I really want to think about you?
“Who the f*** cares about me when I’m gone? My kids maybe, or my grandkids. Who cares.”
— With AFP
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