Mike Tyson thinks it's "cool" that YouTube stars Jake and Logan Paul have called him out for a boxing fight.
Ring legend Tyson made his comeback in 2020 after 15 years in retirement as he fought to a draw over eight rounds with Roy Jones Jr. The younger Paul brother, Jake, fought on his undercard as he knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson in his second professional fight.
And since Tyson returned, he has been called out by a number of fighters, including former rival Evander Holyfield, and the Paul brothers who shot to fame on social media. But when asked by podcast host Joe Rogan whether the call-outs annoyed him, Tyson said: "No, it doesn't, I don't think. I think it is awesome... I think it's cool."
"You can't take yourself too seriously. I mean, the world will turn on you if you take yourself too seriously. Who the hell am I to take myself too seriously. Made all this money, got this reputation and now I'm looking at people screw facing them down... I have a great life... how can I be mad at somebody. Think about it? When my ego is not involved, who can I really be and at somebody?"
Tyson and Paul have both denied reports that they were close to signing a deal to fight earlier this year. But both men have teased the possibility of an exhibition bout in the future. "Nobody told me that," Tyson said on his podcast when asked about a clash with Jake. "Hey, I ain’t got no f****** money. So where’s the f****** contract?
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"I ain’t know nothing about it. Listen, I’ve been smoking with him forever, I did some shrooms with him as well. But I’ve never heard this. I was with him in St Barts not too long ago partying and he never told me this.
"I've never heard this from nobody, I’ve just heard this from you guys. We got to get some more man s***, blue-eyed, blonde hair, that s*** is very expensive, we need to get some more money, man."
And Paul said recently: "I joke with my friends about it, I'm like I'll start eating Krispy Kreme doughnuts, move up to heavyweight and fight Mike Tyson. That would actually excite me and that's a $200-300million event. So Mike, if you're watching this let's have some fun. New school vs old school and I think that's something that the fans would want to see."