Thirty years ago the scene would have been familiar: Mike Tyson on a dais, addressing a packed room before a big fight. A lot has changed since then, since Tyson was the undisputed heavyweight champ, snarling through interviews and cartoonishly knocking out overmatched opponents. Yet inside the Apollo Theatre, where fans lined the Harlem streets for hours to cram into a press conference last May to promote Tyson’s upcoming fight against Jake Paul, one thing was clear: Tyson can still draw a crowd.
But for what, exactly? Tyson-Paul, which will pit the 58-year-old Tyson, who hasn’t fought in an official match in 19 years, against Paul, 27, a YouTuber-turned-boxer who has fattened his résumé flattening ex-MMA fighters, is something of a mystery. It is a sanctioned fight, meaning the result will go on each fighter’s record. It isn’t a typical one; Tyson-Paul will be contested over eight rounds each lasting two minutes (instead of the traditional three) with both fighters wearing 14-ounce gloves (instead of the more puncher-friendly 10). Tyson called the decision to make the fight a “no-brainer” and “something I want to do.”
And why? Tyson will tell you that he still has the itch, that Paul called him out and, hey, he had to respond. More likely, Tyson’s motives are purely financial. He will be paid seven figures to face Paul, but that’s just the beginning of the event’s earning potential. Tyson used the press tour to hock a new energy boost product. He wore a T-shirt promoting a Las Vegas law firm. These days Tyson’s portfolio includes a cannabis company, an apparel line and a podcast. A fight with Paul, which will stream worldwide exclusively on Netflix, offers Tyson a chance to bump his brand in front of tens of millions of new eyeballs. “Mike is no dummy,” says Lou DiBella, a veteran boxing promoter and former HBO executive. “He understands the economic power and the reach of the combination of himself and Jake Paul. He made an incredible business decision.”
In recent years, Tyson has made many of them. In 2005, when he retired following a second straight loss, his future looked bleak. He had been $38 million in debt with no clear way to dig himself out. “Most people,” says DiBella, “thought it was going to end badly.”
Tyson could always make a little cash. “Someone would always want to do a sponsorship deal with him,” says former Tyson manager Shelly Finkel. But the idea that Tyson could emerge as a business tycoon seemed as far-fetched as another run as heavyweight champ.
And yet, here we are. Tyson has always understood marketing. In 2002, a melee broke out during his press conference with Lennox Lewis after Tyson bit his ankle. Finkel recalls a conversation he had with Tyson immediately after. “He grabbed me and said, ‘Shelly, this fight is going to be bigger than ever,’” says Finkel. “All I’m thinking is, How do I get him licensed? How do I clean up this mess? But he knew what happened there made the fight bigger.”
Those around Tyson credit his wife, Lakiha. “Kiki,” whom Tyson married in 2009, has helped harness the Tyson brand. “She’s very astute,” says DiBella. A cameo in The Hangover, where Tyson played a Phil Collins-singing, tiger-owning parody of himself, flashed a different side of him. Undisputed Truth, his Spike Lee-directed one-man show, humanized him. As marijuana has been mainstreamed, Tyson has capitalized, opening a 40-acre ranch in the Mojave Desert to grow his bud, aptly named Tyson 2.0. After having been fined $3 million for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997, Tyson claims he has made more than that from pictures of himself doing the same to others. “I don’t dwell on what was,” said Tyson. “I had so much but I could do so little. Now I can do so much.”
Hotboxin’, his YouTube podcast in which a sublimely stoned Tyson bantered, often incomprehensibly, with a guest, attracted A-list celebs. Entertainers like Wiz Khalifa, Rick Ross and Kevin Hart. Athletes like Francis Ngannou, Tyson Fury and Dennis Rodman. What begins with Tyson interviewing a subject invariably ends with them questioning him. In one episode, Eminem and Tyson bonded over the shared understanding of what it took to get to the top. “It’s almost like you have to give your happiness up to accomplish your goals,” Tyson said, as one of the world’s most famous rappers nodded knowingly.
In 2023, Paul made an appearance on the podcast. Tyson praised Paul for the attention he was bringing boxing and for his efforts to increase fighter pay. “Life is about … pimping and hoeing,” said Tyson, “and fighters are [the] whores.” In ‘20, Paul splashed onto the boxing scene, knocking out former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Tyson’s exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. “I want to thank you for that opportunity,” said Paul. Four years later, he’s getting another.
Buddy McGirt has a story. In 2003, McGirt, a Hall of Fame trainer, worked Clifford Etienne’s corner for his fight against Tyson. In the hours leading into the match, Etienne was confident. Cocky, even. Eight months earlier, Lewis had knocked out Tyson. Etienne was certain he would do the same. When Tyson entered the ring, he ripped the towel off his shoulders and threw it at Etienne’s feet. “In that moment,” says McGirt, “I could see Cliff’s soul leave his body.” Tyson knocked out Etienne in 49 seconds.
Paul expects a similar feeling. Tyson’s affection for Paul is evident. Paul, a heel by nature, has done his best to antagonize Tyson. He has mocked Tyson’s age, dismissed his power and insisted that it will be Tyson, not himself, who gets knocked out. “They say he is the baddest man on the planet,” said Paul. “Let’s find out.”
Tyson, meanwhile, has called Paul “a friend” and a “kid GOAT.” Asked if he intended to put an end to Paul, Tyson said, “I like Jake a lot,” bizarrely—and graphically—declaring that videos of a 16-year-old Paul on YouTube made him physically aroused. Pressed on his own physique, flashed in bite-size clips on social media, Tyson said his body “feels like s---.” Asked if he was just playing possum, Tyson said, “I wish.”
Still, it’s Mike freaking Tyson. In Dallas, on the second stop of the Tyson-Paul press tour, Tyson wondered if Paul was suicidal. Asked why he was confident he could win, Tyson sneered, “Picture me losing to him.” He said Paul’s record is filled with “little children” with no experience. “Once he’s in that ring [he has] to fight like his life is dependent on it,” said Tyson. “Because it will be.”
None of this is lost on Paul. “I’m scared,” said Paul. “I know it’s going to be tough. I know I’m going to have to fight through adversity. I know I might even go to the canvas.”
Maybe he will get up. It won’t matter to Tyson. Fans have expressed concern about his health. An ulcer flareup over the summer forced the fight to be delayed several months. “I’m going to be OK,” Tyson said. To Tyson, there is no downside to facing Paul. Years ago, Tyson’s earning power was tied to his success in the ring. Now, it’s about the character he has created out of it.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as With Jake Paul Netflix Fight, Mike Tyson Expands His Larger-Than-Life Persona.
