IT’S A KNOCKOUT
How Mike Tyson & Jake Paul’s $80m clash became ‘boxing’s biggest freak show’ with lie detector gaffes and $2m VIP seats
Three-decade age gap between the men is the largest in professional boxing history
AS the dust settles on the US election, America is bracing itself for another epic and unpredictable showdown.
And once again, it pits a controversial, motor-mouthed veteran against a far younger contender many predict is not cut out for the job.
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More than 60,000 fans will pile into Texas’s AT&T arena on Saturday to watch the spectacle of former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson, 58, take on 27-year-old YouTuber Jake Paul in what critics have dubbed the biggest freak show in boxing history.
VIP ringside seats are being sold for a record £1.55million — and millions more will tune into the event which, in a groundbreaking move, is being streamed live on Netflix.
But it remains to be seen whether Paul can solve the conundrum that has seen fighters with twice his class pummelled to the canvas by the self-styled Baddest Man On The Planet.
In Tyson’s famous words: “Everyone has a plan ’til they get punched in the mouth.”
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Until his retirement in 2005, the human pitbull famously won 44 of his 58 fights by knockouts.
Yet even Tyson — whose training regime includes microdosing magic mushrooms and smoking weed — can’t win against Old Father Time.
The three-decade age gap between the men is the largest in professional boxing history.
Gutsy Paul, rated a decent if inexperienced pugilist, may use his youth to give the ex-champ the runaround before delivering a knockout blow.
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So is this simply a circus act or a legitimate contest in the spirit of the Marquess of Queensberry?
What’s certain is that it will be box office gold.
Jake Paul had vision of himself fighting Mike Tyson while high on psychedelics three years ago
Rather than the usual pay per view, the fighters have signed a deal said to be around £31million each for Saturday’s early hours bout.
It is already predicted to be one of the most-viewed boxing matches of all time, and media analysts suggest it could usher in a new dawn for how live sports are consumed, with further plans to broadcast NFL and WWE events on Netflix.
Tyson is characteristically bullish ahead of the fight in Arlington, Texas.
Before Paul had his most recent and 11th fight, Iron Mike insisted: “Regardless of how old I am, this guy only has ten fights.
“If I can fight ten per cent of what I was, he only has ten fights, he couldn’t match that.”
‘Weak and flawed person’
Not everyone shares his optimism. Boxing great and promoter Barry McGuigan told a newspaper he fears Tyson will tarnish his legacy if he is remembered for “that sham of a fight with that YouTuber”.
The former featherweight, who will appear on this year’s I’m A Celebrity, added: “A 58-year-old man shouldn’t be fighting. He just shouldn’t.
“At that age your punch resistance invariably disappears. And while we see all these clips of Tyson doing the pads, that’s not real. What’s real is sparring against good-quality opposition and seeing how you look then.”
The younger man’s route to the Texas ring was as a celebrity You- Tuber whose maiden fight was a so-called white-collar boxing contest for office workers.
He has won ten of his 11 professional bouts with seven knockouts.
Nicknamed The Problem Child, Paul’s only loss was to Tommy Fury — but it was a split decision and he knocked the Love Island star down in the eighth round.
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It is a record that lends him legitimacy, though his opponents included a YouTuber, a retired basketball star and four Mixed Martial Arts fighters.
The opponents were well-picked — seven were 35 or older — and purses huge. Paul has earned tens of millions from his fights including almost £24million from the bout with Fury.
Yet Tyson has fought genuine ring legends including Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno.
In August at a press conference with Iron Mike, Paul bragged: “I’m here to make 40million dollars and knock out a legend.
“I don’t give a f* about anything else. And he’s the one that wanted it to be a pro fight. “So he’s gonna get his ass knocked out for real on a real record.”
One glamorous figure in Paul’s corner is his Dutch girlfriend Jutta Leerdam, an Olympic speed skating silver medallist who admits to more anxiety over the clash.
She told the Netflix documentary Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson: “I’m a little scared. “I think, ‘Hey, stay away from my boyfriend.’ But it’s also the sport, so I understand that.”
And when hooked up to a lie detector machine on the endless social media promo trail, Paul’s trash talk bluster disappeared. Asked if he would beat the former undisputed champion, he answered: “Yeah.”
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But the lie detector begged to differ, suggesting Paul’s cocky facade hid his real belief that he would lose.
When a clip of the test went viral, Tyson shared it with his 30million Instagram followers with three laughing emojis emblazoned on it.
The pair were originally scheduled to meet on July 20 but Tyson was taken ill two months earlier in an plane toilet after an ulcer flare-up.
On the plane, I went to the bathroom, and I threw up blood,” he revealed. “Next thing I know I’m on the floor and I was defecating tar.” In his Eighties prime, Tyson was the most destructive heavyweight of his generation.
Menacing in black trunks, black ankle-high boots and no socks, he would pace the ring before the first bell like a caged lion.
Psyching out many before a punch was thrown, he won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them in the first round.
In 1992 he was convicted of raping 18-year-old Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington and received a six-year prison sentence, serving less than half that time.
I’d rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity.
Mike Tyson
On his release, he fought two losing fights against Evander Holyfield. In the second, Tyson sank his teeth into Holyfield’s ear, biting the fleshy top off before spitting it out on to the canvas.
Teddy Atlas, his former trainer, called Tyson “a very weak and flawed person”.
His penultimate contest — against Brit Danny Williams in 2004 — saw him unable to beat the count after being knocked down in a bloodied heap in the fourth round.
In his last professional fight in 2005, he threw in the towel against Irishman Kevin McBride before the seventh round.
Announcing his retirement afterwards, a downbeat Tyson insisted: “I’m not going to disrespect the sport any more by losing to this calibre of fighter.”
A 2020 exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr was judged a draw. Tyson admitted he was high on marijuana during the fight, revealing afterwards: “I smoke every day.”
He credits weed for helping him beat a destructive cocaine and booze habit.
‘I’m a glutton for pain’
Asked by US TV host Jimmy Kimmel recently if he intends to be “high on marijuana” during his bout with Paul, Tyson replied: “That’s a possibility.”
Also a magic mushroom user, Tyson says he takes the psychedelics during his workouts “because I feel beautiful”.
Now he has been lured back to his beloved ring partly, at least, for the adulation. “I’m a glory junkie,” the fighter with a Maori-inspired face tattoo admitted. “I love people thinking about me all day.
“I’d rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity.
“This is all I started fighting for — to get all this fing status.
“I’m going to be chasing it for the rest of my life. I know that. “I’m never going to get what I want, because I’m one of those gluttons for pain. I can never get enough.”
The giant purse might help too, with punters paying through the roof to get close to the action.
The arena’s most expensive ticket is a record $2million VIP package, which will seat two people less than six feet from the action in a private booth.
If Mike lands one clean punch, and if he makes him miss, he will make him pay.
Jeff Fenech
Further perks include the chance to visit both fighters backstage before the fight, an open bar and gourmet all-inclusive food menu, plus a personal security escort to accompany guests across the venue.
And even at 58, the allure of an Iron Mike knockout remains undimmed.
Jeff Fenech, who trained Tyson to defeats against Williams and McBride, believes the fallen champ still has what it takes to dispatch upstart Paul.
The cornerman said: “If Mike lands one clean punch, and if he makes him miss, he will make him pay. “If he doesn’t try and strike at the same time and is patient, the fight could be over in one minute.”
Thankfully — perhaps for both fighters — the rounds will be two minutes long rather than the usual three for men’s bouts.
Dad-of-seven Tyson explained: “I wanted the shorter rounds because I wanted more action. “If we only have two minutes, we’ll fight more.”
And the fighters will wear 14oz gloves rather than the usual 10oz to lend greater protection.
Neither man will wear headguards.
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The prospect of a potentially stoned former heavy-hitting champ battling a rookie almost young enough to be his grandson may not warm the cockles of boxing purists.
“People say it’s s*t,” Gypsy King Tyson Fury said. “But I bet they still watch it.”
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