Nobody is taking the November 15 Jake Paul-Mike Tyson Netflix fight seriously.
How do I know?
Much of the media covering the press conference from their living room tables on a lazy Sunday afternoon clearly didn’t even WATCH the press conference.
“Mike Tyson throws a punch and pushes Jake Paul during heated face-off as boxing fight is rescheduled,” read the headline from Bloody Elbow.com.
Really?
Anyone who saw that “punch and push” from a laughing Tyson would hardly describe them as “heated,” unless it was in reference to possibly faulty air conditioning at the Javits Center in New York City.
And those media people calling Tyson’s demeanor during the presser “terrifying” or “serious” or “chilling” were clearly not watching the same jovial, playful, almost grandfatherly 58-year-old playing along with the silliness like he was taking questions from a kindergarten class.
But one can see where one-liners like “be careful” and “I’m going to f**k him up” might be taken as ominous harbingers of doom from the former baddest man on the planet– if one were only going by written word quotes posted in news agency reports.
Jake Paul, meanwhile, did his best to play heel to Tyson’s baby face.
“You had to go on your little menopause break and postpone the fight,” Paul bad-guyed towards Tyson, referring to the former heavyweight champ withdrawing from their original July date due to a stomach ailment. “What about that, dawg? I was ready before, you needed a little break. Your tummy hurt still?
“I brought this deal to this old-ass motherf**ker. We signed the contract with Netflix and I brought him the deal. So, you’re welcome my son. I’m gonna discipline you like a son. So, shut the f**k up with all this ‘need this’ and ‘need that.’ We brought you this deal – and remember that.”
Then, Paul went after the press conference host city and even showcased his shitty politics.
“Shut the f**k up, New York,” Paul told a wildly pro-Tyson crowd. “Boo yourselves. Boo yourselves, New York. New York, you’re just like Mike Tyson — you were good 20 years ago. F**k you, New York. Dumba** Democratic city.”
The couch-resting Sunday media did better with guestimating Paul’s actual demeanor than they did with Tyson’s. Jake Paul is an a**hole being an a**hole for the sake of garnering attention. Even the poorest judge of character, totally NOT actually watching the press conference, would be able to get that right.
For what it’s worth, though, the crowd in New York City– upwards of 2,500 at Fanatics Fest– WAS really into this half-assed presser, as they wildly supported Tyson and angrily jeered Paul, responding enthusiastically to everything that either said.
The crowd support was a stark reminder that fans will be fans and they will support whatever the hell they want.
That’s why people may be completely on the money when they say that Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson on Netflix, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas may turn out to be the most watched fight in combat sports history. Paul’s and Tyson’s rumored guaranteed purses of $40 million and $20 million, respectively, for a non-PPV boxing match certainly lend credence to the fact that this fluff fight will be a big deal.
At the end of the day, sports is entertainment and it doesn’t matter one bit if anyone is taking this seriously.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com