Mike Tyson reportedly had one condition before agreeing to fight Jake Paul.
The boxing world was shocked on Thursday afternoon when it was confirmed that Tyson will come out of retirement to take on YouTuber turned-boxer Paul.
Announcing the fight, popular streaming platform Netflix wrote on social media: “It’s JAKE PAUL vs. MIKE TYSON — yes, really! — in a LIVE BOXING event at AT&T Stadium you won’t want to miss. Airing live on Netflix Saturday, July 20 #PaulTyson.”
Back in May 2022, Tyson reportedly told the Club Random Podcast that he would happily fight Paul, but on the condition that the event broke pay-per-view records.
He said: “I don’t look at him the way society looks at him, I can’t even say what they call him.
“He’s a fighter but they don’t want to credit him as being a fighter. He can fight and everybody wants to kick his a** because he p***** everybody off. He’s a great salesman and promoter, he doesn’t even know it. He’s just a natural great promoter.”
Speaking last year on The Journey Podcast, Paul said: “I’m like, ‘I’ll start eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts and move up to heavyweight and take on Mike Tyson.’ That would actually excite me and that’s a $300m event. So, Mike if you’re watching this let’s have some fun. New school vs old school, I think that’s something the fans would want to see.”
Ahead of the fight, Paul said on X: “I could not be more excited to make this amazing fight available to all Netflix subscribers alongside the hardest hitter of all time, Mike Tyson, on Saturday, July 20th.
“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion of the world, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time. Time to put Iron Mike to sleep.”
