Mike Tyson won’t face Jake Paul in the boxing ring until 8:00 pm tonight.
But the mismatched opponents offered an unexpected preview of the showdown when they met at their final weigh-in.
Yes, Iron Mike stunned the crowd when he slapped Jake in the face during a routine press event.
Tension has been rising between these two for a while (or at least they’ve done a good job of pretending they hate each other to get publicity).
But still, the move came as a complete shock. Now the question is…
Why did Mike Tyson slap Jake Paul?
The confrontation happened in an instant, and it left many fight fans wondering what upset Tyson.
According to a friend of Tyson’s, Paul really crossed the line when he kicked the 58-year-old in the leg.
“Jake stepped on Mike’s foot. This caused a reaction. I was there and Mike told me,” explains retired boxer Tom Petty USA Today,
“My personal opinion is that Jake shows so much disrespect that he starts crawling up to Mike and then pounces on him… like some kind of animal running around. Mike put it in its place.
Petty said that this moment was a sign that all of Tyson’s hype was over. It is time to fight.”
Jake laughed about this on Twitter
The Tyson promotion may be over, but it looks like Paul still enjoys the attention.
He immediately took to Twitter to boast about his viral moment.
“This is a pinch moment for me. I got slapped by Mike Tyson,” Paul tweeted last night.
The fight was originally scheduled for July 20, but was rescheduled when Tyson experienced an “ulcer flare-up”, limiting his ability to train.
a controversial match
Paul is no stranger to controversy, but the media circus surrounding this fight is intense even by the standards of someone who promotes so aggressively.
When the event was first announced in March, the competitors seemed unusually at odds with each other.
This led to speculation that the match was rigged, an allegation that both Tyson and Paul have denied.
And if there were ever any warm feelings between these two, they seem to have disappeared.
These days, we are seeing the animosity that we have come to expect from two boxers who are about to face each other in a high-profile fight.
But every other aspect of this event is like nothing we’ve seen before.
The 31-year age difference between Tyson and Paul is the largest in the history of professional boxing. And Iron Mike retired from the game in 2005.
Can the boxing legend hold his own against a much younger opponent? We’ll find out tonight when these two take to the ring at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
This event will be live streamed on Netflix.