Mike Tyson is ready to step into the ring with Jake Paul.
As he prepares for his upcoming fight with Paul, 27, on Nov. 15, the 58-year-old boxer sounded confident when he told reporters, including ESPN, “I’m bringing the devil himself [to the ring],” during an open workout.
“There are no feelings attached,” added Tyson, who called Paul a “friend” and a “very exciting fighter” in his recent Interview Magazine feature. The fighter went on to tell reporters that he’s not going to hold back when he comes out at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas with the former YouTube star.
Tyson continued, “My own mother should be very careful if she has to get in the ring with me. When it’s over, it’s over. But while the process is going on, my intention is to hurt him. I hope he has the same intentions, or he is in trouble,” per ESPN.
In his Interview feature, released on Nov. 12, Tyson spoke to actress Rosie Perez about his public perception — and why he doesn’t care what people think of him. “It’s none of my business how people perceive me,” Tyson told Perez, 60.
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“It’s how I perceive myself. They can think I’m the psycho guy, the prison guy, the fucking guy that didn’t give a fuck and just said anything without a filter. If they believe I’m the guy that’s trying to get my shit together, that’s cool too. But it doesn’t really matter.”
“It only matters what I feel and what I believe in myself,” Tyson added.
Tyson told Perez for Interview that he’s impressed with Paul’s wide audience reach and and ability to “put on a show” in the ring. “Boxing is part entertainment and part spiritual,” said Tyson. “When you fight, you fight with your spirit, your will, your determination. Your skill doesn’t just do it alone.”
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But when he gets face-to-face with Paul, Tyson considers all bets off. “Hey, I’m in a fight. I’m defending myself. He’s going to try to hurt me, so I have to try to hurt him.”
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The highly-anticipated contest between Paul and Tyson was first announced in March, but it had to be rescheduled from the original July 20 date to Nov. 15 after Tyson was diagnosed with an ulcer flare-up in May.
Tyson went 50-6-2 with 44 knockouts throughout his career, officially taking a step back from boxing in 2005 (although he most recently went head-to-head with Roy Jones Jr. in a 2020 exhibition match). He was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
