Mike Tyson is not a man who one would imagine scares easily – especially at the prospect of fighting Jake Paul.
However, former undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson has revealed he does feel a sense of fear ahead of his July 20 exhibition with Paul.
The pair will lock horns at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas in an event that many believe could attract a nine figure viewing audience worldwide.
And in a recent appearance on Fox News, ‘Iron Mike’ admitted to Sean Hannity that he was “scared to death” – though quickly added those fears will evaporate by the time the fight rolls around.
“He’s came a long way from YouTubing, I seen a clip of him at 16 doing weird dances – that’s not the guy I’m going to be fighting!
“This guy’s going to come and try and hurt me, which I’m accustomed to.
“This is an exhibition, but if you look up exhibition, you will not see any of the laws we’re fighting under – this is a fight.
“I have a weird personality, whatever I’m afraid to do, I do it. Anything I’m afraid of, I confront it.
Mike Tyson just delivered the COLDEST message to Jake Paul 🥶 pic.twitter.com/Vs3muEpjco
— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) April 3, 2024
“Right now, I’m scared to death. But as the fight gets closer, the less nervous I become, because it’s reality. And in reality, I’m invincible.
“I always believed adversity and nervousness catapulted me into success.
“If I didn’t have these feelings then I wouldn’t go into this fight.”
There has been huge criticism of the contest, which will see 57-year-old Hall of Famer Tyson take on a man thirty years his junior in Paul.
Tyson had an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr in 2020, though are still big question marks over whether it’s safe for him to step into the ring this summer.
Known as ‘The Problem Child’, Paul has undoubtedly improved as a boxer over the past couple of years and has managed to separate himself from the other influencers who have tried their hand at the sport.
He has gone from taking on fellow social media stars, to MMA fighters to fully fledged professional boxers in his last two outings – both of whom he stopped in the first round.
The bout is to be shown live on Netflix as the streaming services’ first-ever live sporting showcase.
