Boxing legend Mike Tyson slaps influencer Jake Paul: “Now he has to die”

The former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson and the Influencer Jake Paul have further fueled the excitement surrounding their boxing duel at the weigh-in. The 58-year-old Tyson slapped his opponent on stage.

After Tyson weighed in at 105.7 kilograms and Paul weighed in at 99.8 kilograms, the two walked towards each other for the obligatory look into each other’s eyes for a boxing match. Paul started in a crawling position, then stepped on Tyson’s foot, who then hit the influencer with the flat of his hand. Tyson had to be held back from his bed, Paul shouted towards the spectators: “Now it’s personal, he has to die.”

“Troublemaker” and “loudmouth” Jake Paul

Paul takes on the outsider role in the fight. When the two appeared at events together in the weeks and months leading up to the fight, the influencer was often booed. “These are fans of Mike Tyson who love him. And I’m the new one, the troublemaker, the loudmouth, the one who polarizes,” said Paul. “I’ve built my career by being the villain. Of course people are against me – that’s great for boxing.”

Paul has only been in the ring since 2020 and has had ten boxing matches since then. The 27-year-old made a name for himself as an influencer, with 27 million fans following him on Instagram and 20.8 million on YouTube.

The boxing fight will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the Dallas Cowboys football team plays its home games. Up to 80,000 spectators are expected at the show fight. The streaming provider Netflix, which is broadcasting the fight, wants to use the event to test the potential of sports broadcasts. And the fee is also right: experts assume that Tyson, as a big draw, will collect between 50 and 100 million euros.