Mike Tyson has finally ruled out a meeting with YouTube star Jake Paul for good after the pair teased a boxing fight.
Boxing legend Tyson made a heavyweight comeback of sorts in a hugely successful exhibition clash with Roy Jones Jr in 2020, which led to talks of 'Iron' making further exploits in the ring. YouTube star Paul fought on the undercard in that event and has since gone on to stage some huge events including his recent defeat to Tommy Fury.
Throughout his rise, Paul has suggested he would be open to an exhibition clash with heavyweight legend Tyson which he deemed could be worth up to $100 million in revenue. Boxing legend Tyson last year suggested he too would entertain fight talks but set a deadline until the end of 2022 which has since expired.
However in a fresh update this year after being pestered about the contest, Tyson has now insisted that the links should be downplayed given he no longer intends to make a new comeback. He said in a brief statement on his HotBoxin' podcast : “No way! I’m not fighting nobody, I’m just chilling.”
Paul and Tyson became friends during the influencer's rise to becoming a high-profile name in combat sports, and have regularly suggested a fight could take place. However it now appears to be entirely on the cards particularly given Paul has also announced his latest boxing outing against UFC veteran Nate Diaz in August.
The 'Problem Child' did suffer his first defeat against Fury in February after being outpointed by split decision despite knocking down his rival in the final round. It will now be a difficult task to overturn his loss, given he still has a contracted rematch clause with the Briton which he could activate later this year.
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However any meeting will now not likely take place until the final quarter of 2023 or even later with Paul instead touching gloves with rival Diaz. The 26-year-old regularly faces criticism for his boxing career, but former undisputed champion Tyson believes it is largely in jealousy.
He said on the Jimmy Kimmel show : "Even if he is fighting fighters that aren't meant to be good enough, they should still be beating him but they can't. He is beating people that he shouldn't really be beating so you have to give him credit. He is doing good and he is doing things that are great for boxing. This guy has 7 million people following him every time he fights.
"The champions of the world don't have that many people following him so what he is doing for boxing is sensational. No-one should be hating on him, what this kid is doing they should be following him. He is helping everybody get money so why are people mad at him?"
