Mike Tyson Slaps Jake Paul Ahead Of Friday Bout: Friend Reveals Surprising Reason

A shocking twist emerged Wednesday night when professional boxing legend Mike Tyson punched YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul at the AT&T Stadium weigh-in, but a close friend of Tyson’s finally spilled the beans on what caused the fight. Longtime friend, former training partner Tom Patti says that was all because Paul had stepped on his foot.

The scene of the event appears to capture Paul briefly stepping on the front of Tyson’s right foot and swiftly reaching back. This tiny action made Tyson swing his hand with a slap across Paul’s face and point down, seemingly telling him the reason why he reacted that way. The slap was strong enough to initially shock the bystanders but the two fighters were separated before things worsened any further.

Jake stepped on Mike’s foot; that prompted the reaction,” she told USA TODAY Sports via text. According to Patti, who has known Tyson since they both trained under the legendary boxing coach Cus D’Amato, Tyson’s reaction was swift and instinctive. “I was there, and Mike just told me,” Patti said.

Patti and Tyson share a history which dates back for decades, back when they began training together in Catskill, New York. Patti, an elected member of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors in California, added that Tyson was instrumental in Patti’s journey into public service. Yet, despite Tyson and Paul’s apparent camaraderie during past joint appearances since the fight announcement in March, tensions appeared to have grown over recent weeks.

Though Tyson and Paul remained civil, in fact even denying rumors that the bout was a fix, their last words were icy. According to Patti, Paul was perhaps finally too arrogant for his own good leading up to the weigh-in: “Jake shows enough disrespect that he starts crawling up to Mike and then pounces in front of him.like some sort of lurching animal. Mike put him in his place.”.

Tyson Focused And Ready To Fight

Patti added that the episode shows a Tyson who would call all his concentration to focus entirely on the fight. “Mike’s reaction shows he is done with all the publicity. It’s time to fight,” he added. Tyson, who has generally led life under the radar of people’s attention for the past two decades, is said to be earning $20 million for Friday’s bout, comprised of eight two-minute rounds and streamed live on Netflix.

Jake Paul Teases Tyson

Weighing in at 227.2 pounds, Paul didn’t flinch when Tyson slapped him. He was as arrogant as humanly possible. “I didn’t feel it even — he’s mad. He’s an angry little elf…cute slap, buddy,” the YouTuber kiddingly quipped, as his fans began to burst out laughing. He continued, using choice, boisterous language, promising to “knock him out” and dramatically let out a howl into the microphone while screaming “He must die.”

The brawl has been a storm in a teacup for boxing enthusiasts, wondering if Tyson, who entered the professional ring nearly 40 years ago and had retreated from sanctioned fights 19 years ago, was coming out again. Still, all the noise aside, the crowd is expected to be tremendous when people attend the Friday event by the thousands to find out just how Tyson will perform against his cocky younger opponent.

MUST READ | France-Israel Match Ends In Draw Amid Scuffle, Security Tensions At Stade de France