VIDEO: Mike Tyson slapped Jake Paul at their final weigh-in. Here's why Tyson claims he did it
(NEXSTAR) – A meeting between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul briefly devolved into chaos on Thursday after Tyson slapped Paul across the face during the final weigh-in before their highly anticipated fight on Friday.
The incident, which took place at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas, prompted dozens of crew members and fight officials to intervene, video shows.
Moments later, Tyson offered only a few words on his attack on Paul: “Talking’s over.”
Paul was also seen adopting a meditative pose after the slap, sitting cross-legged on the stage.
“I didn’t even feel it,” Paul later said. “He’s angry. He’s a [sic] angry little elf. Mike Tyson, I thought that was a cute slap, buddy, but tomorrow you’re gonna get knocked the f--- out.”
Paul, screaming, added, “It’s personal now! He must die!”
Speaking with the New York Post after the scuffle, Tyson claimed he slapped his opponent because Paul had stepped on his foot, possibly intentionally, according to Tyson.
“I was in a lot of pain. I had to reciprocate,” said Tyson, who pointed out that he was wearing socks while Paul was wearing shoes.
Tom Patti, a friend of Tyson’s, gave the same story to USA Today Sports and also pointed to an alleged lack of respect on Paul’s part.
“My personal opinion [is] Jake shows enough disrespect that he starts crawling up to Mike and then pouncing in front of him … like some sort of lurching animal. Mike put him in his place.”
Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, are scheduled to face off Friday in a matchup that will mark the former’s first sanctioned professional fight in almost 20 years. A crowd of at least 60,000 is expected to watch the fight live at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Netflix is also making the fight available to subscribers.
Tyson was 50-6 with 44 knockouts when he retired after losing to Kevin McBride in 2005, and last fought in an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. with no fans during the pandemic in 2020. Paul, formerly a social media influencer, is relatively new to the sport, bringing a 10-1 record with seven knockouts mostly against mixed martial artists and journeymen boxers.
Friday’s fight card also includes a bout between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, both of whom were also at Thursday’s weigh-in. Their meeting took an altogether different tone, however.
“This is the defining moment for all women in boxing,” Serrano said after their weigh-ins.
“I couldn’t ask for a better dance partner than Katie Taylor to showcase great women’s boxing, and I’m just happy to be here, super honored, and I just can’t wait to go out there and throw my hands,” she added, laughing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.