Jake Paul said Mike Tyson ‘hits like a b****’ after being slapped by the boxing legend as the pair faced off at the weigh-in ahead of their fight.
Tyson, 58, has been curiously passive during fight week here in Dallas, Texas, and was accused of being ‘f***** boring’ by his 27-year-old opponent Paul during an uneventful press conference.
But things kicked off at the weigh-in, just 24 hours before the intriguing and controversial fight takes place at the AT&T Stadium, with Tyson slapping his opponent during the face-off.
Both fighters weighed in – Paul at 227.2 pounds and Tyson at 228.4 – and had barely made eye contact for the face-off when the sporting icon landed a slap across Paul’s face.
Paul was on all fours as Tyson made his way to the face-off area, presuming trying to antagonise the former world heavyweight champion, but got a slap to the jaw as soon as he came back up.
Security stepped in to hold Tyson back, not that he looked like he was trying to inflict further blows, while Paul began to laugh and interact with the crowd inside the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, a few miles from the fight venue.
Tyson was then escorted off the stage but not before sports broadcaster Ariel Helwani asked him how he felt on the eve of the fight.
‘Talking’s over,’ he replied before walking off as Helwani tried to ask him why he slapped Paul.
Paul, who has won 10 of his 11 pro fights to date, was sitting on stage in a meditation pose by this point before being summoned for a quick chat.
Asked how it felt to be slapped by someone once known as the baddest man on the planet, Paul said: ‘I didn’t even feel it. He’s angry, he’s an angry little elf.
‘Mike Tyson, that was a cute slap buddy but tomorrow you’re getting knocked the f*** out.
‘I’m f*****g him up, I’m f*****g him up! He hits like a b***. It’s personal now, it’s personal now! He must die!’
Tyson, meanwhile, merely said ‘the talking’s over’ before leaving the stage.