Mike Tyson and Jake Paul met for the first time since the announcement of what is undoubtedly the most intriguing pairing in modern boxing history.
Tyson and Paul held a press conference inside the iconic Apollo Theater, where legendary artists such as Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, James Brown, and Lauryn Hill once performed, alongside undercard fighters Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, to promote their July 20 boxing match, which will be streamed on Netflix for free to subscribers.
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The atmosphere was cheerful and casual. There was no bad blood. The warriors in both matches displayed a great deal of respect and appreciation for their opponents. During the final face-off photo opportunity, Tyson and Paul held their stares inches apart, and Tyson even playfully shadow boxed Paul with fast hooks to his opponent’s body. Both burst out laughing and lightly shoved each other.
Certainly, there was the typical bravado that accompanies these gatherings.
“Yeah, look, they call him ‘Iron Mike’ Tyson,” Paul stated at one time, “but I’m titanium Jake Paul.”
And last, “I’m going to show Mike who has more power.”
However, the press conference struggled at times to justify its presentation of the event as an exhibition rather than the officially sanctioned combat that it has become.
An hour before the show began, the line for fans to enter the Apollo stretched around 125th Street and 8th Avenue. They wore New York Knicks hats and Tyson T-shirts with screen prints of his visage on the chest. The crowd was certainly more sympathetic to Tyson, who is from the Brownsville neighborhood in east Brooklyn.
But there was also a section of younger audience members who expressed their love for Paul, whose YouTube and social media platforms have made him an icon for a generation that has had an unconventional, if unequal, introduction to boxing.
During the audience’s question-and-answer session, a 16-year-old from Queens named Xavier presented himself as an aspiring boxer who grew up watching Paul and his brother, Logan, and thanked them both for “making” his life.
The child went on to say that he was rooting for Paul—”Please don’t kill me, Mike”—and asked Paul what advice he would give to young people with low financial resources who want to box. At the end of the conversation, Paul indicated that someone from his support team should remove the boy’s details since he promised to send him “a bunch of gear and stuff.”
Tyson, with a puzzled expression on his face, leaned into the microphone and stated, “I can’t believe this is happening at a press conference.”
“Forgive me,” he continued. “I am an old dude. This is new.”
The host, combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, responded to Tyson by referencing Netflix’s popularity and reach, adding, “Netflix wasn’t even a thing when you were fighting.”
Tyson simply shrugged his shoulders and replied, “It is now, I guess.”
In any event, Tyson was undoubtedly the major attraction, at least in Harlem.
As Helwani worked his way through the early introductions of the four competitors on the program, the crowd’s fervor gradually increased until it came time to face Tyson. The lights in the Apollo went out while a video aired on the large screen behind the stage. Unlike the previous three fighters, Tyson received a single spotlight introduction as soon as the video concluded.
Taylor, an Irish female boxer and two-weight undisputed champion, said it was a “dream” to fight on the same bill as Tyson. Before the Tyson-Paul bout, Taylor will face Serrano in a rematch of their spectacular fight at Madison Square Garden two years ago.
When questioned about her own struggle, Taylor’s first words were, “I’m starstruck.”
“I think if my family had said what I want to do before I retire, is there anything I want to achieve in the sport or anybody who I’d want to meet? One of the things I’d have said is I’d love to meet Mike Tyson,” Taylor stated. “And now he is alongside me.”This athlete is a true icon and legend in their sport.” I am pinching myself.”
Tyson stated that he is “doing fantastic” but added, non-comically, that his “body is currently (expletive).”
He has received considerable criticism for taking on this fight considering his age, and his fitness and conditioning are undoubtedly the most important questions in the clash.
“I’m really sore,” he explained. “I wish (I was playing possum).”
Tyson, 57, celebrates his birthday at the end of June. He retired in 2005, but he last fought in November 2020 in an exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. This may be the last time fans see him in the ring. Tyson, on the other hand, left the door wide open for a future return to the ring.
“Hey, this seems like it’s going to be pretty fun,” he said. “Maybe we’ll do it again, too.”
When asked about any other fighters he was interested in, Tyson instantly deflected, stating, “Well, can I take care of Jake first?”
Before that, the promotional trip will stop at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the fight will take place for another news conference on Thursday night.
