Boxing
It’s difficult to take Tyson-Paul seriously, but this is humorous
Mike Tyson and Jake Paul face off at the Novel York City Fanatics press conference (Photo: Michelle Farsi/Most Valuable Promotions)
NEW YORK — It was a circus. A fun, light-hearted circus, bigger than three rings, without the elephants, tigers jumping through fiery hoops and trapeze artists spinning through the air. But then again, what would you expect when Mike Tyson and Jake Paul met? That’s exactly what they did Sunday at Fanatics Fest NYC 2024 at the Javits Center in what was billed as an exclusive press conference ahead of their Friday, Nov. 15 fight at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Now 58, Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) hadn’t fought in nearly two decades, and at 27, Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) hadn’t fought anyone. So, thanks to Paul’s genius, they managed to pack a press conference that included maybe four legitimate media members, a pile of fanboy media, and a horde of ravenous fans.
Somehow the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation officially recognized this fight as a heavyweight fight.
Tyson and Paul fielded questions from alleged “media” and played to the crowd. Paul played the villain with great gusto, cursing and sneering, settling into stern WWE mode. Tyson, laughing at the spectacle at times, tried to be menacing, though he did it with a mischievous, impish smile.
“This will be one of the biggest boxing events in boxing history,” said one of the announcers.
They were trying to satisfy the most basic needs of fans – politics and Novel York’s overwhelming dislike for the Dallas Cowboys.
At one point, Paul shouted that he was making $40 million off the fight. Trying to be heard over the noise of the crowd, he shouted, “Shut up, Novel York. Boo. Boo, Novel York. Novel York, you’re like Mike Tyson—you were good 20 years ago. Go away, Novel York. You stupid Democratic city.”
This caused even more booing.
Tyson, in character as the beloved hero, tried to keep a straight face. The “Iron Mike” of elderly appeared several times, taunting Paul, “I’ll blow you away.” Then, when asked how the fight would go, he said, “Very painful” for Paul. Tyson was asked if the fight would happen. Tyson said, chuckling, “It’s happening… We’re all here.”
According to Paul, the fight will last 10 two-minute rounds.
It was captivating to see what kind of crowd this event drew. Most may not know Canelo Alvarez from a can of paint, but they seemed to know WWE star Roman Reigns — and some might have even thought that professional wrestling was real and not scripted. And we’re not talking about kids, but grown men who were holding up their own fraudulent WWE championship belts.
Since there was almost no real media there, no stern questions were asked.
Fans and media received T-shirts during the Tyson-Paul press conference in Novel York City on Sunday, August 18 (Photo: Joseph Santoliquito/RingTV.com)
Fans chanted, “Tyson, Tyson, Tyson.” Paul, who once played Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series for two seasons, was the better actor and actually deserves credit for pulling off the feat. At first glance, it’s a no-win situation: If he loses to Mike Tyson, 58, well past his threatening prime, Paul loses. If he goes after Tyson, tired and running, 60, Paul still loses for beating up an elderly man.
Behind the scenes, Paul is in a no-win situation. The fight, paired with the very real Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano rematch, will be broadcast live to Netflix’s 277 million subscribers at no additional cost to pay-per-view. The gullible mainstream seems to have been sold, as evidenced by the avalanche of attention the press conference (which was not a press conference) generated on Sunday.
The question that arises is: Will they actually wrestle, or will they try to make it look good by following WWE’s script?
What originally made it so compelling was Tyson smashing Paul. That may not happen. At least not in the way these two interacted on Sunday.
As they gathered to “look down,” Tyson again tried to hold back his laughter. To try to get the crowd moving, Tyson pushed Paul. He tried to hide his own laughter while doing so. Paul, trying to put on his best Disney face, pushed Tyson. The two stood facing each other, trying to look menacing.
For the kids in the audience, as well as the grown men in WWE shirts and belts, it looked realistic.
The elderly school fans won’t give Paul his due. He hasn’t earned it in the ring yet. But he trains difficult. He lives the life of a boxer very much. You can tell he’s stern about becoming a world champion. Whether he has the skills remains to be seen. He plays the villain well. Paul knows how to promote himself and how to play the part. Paul’s estimated net worth is $80 million and growing. Canelo Alvarez’s estimated net worth is $275 million. To achieve that, Paul will have to face someone very real one day.
A faded Mike Tyson is not the way to go.
So far, Paul has convinced a lot of people living in a make-believe world of this – a bit like a Disney cartoon for a child, a bigoted media, or grown men waving WWE belts around on Sunday.
To echo what Tyson said, “It’s happening. We’re all here.”
Are we all convinced this will be real?
Few.
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