ARLINGTON, Texas – Jake Paulo It is Mike Tyson met at a press conference for the second time Thursday on Texas Live! – and things got a little spicy.
For the first time since the fight was announced, there was a lot of trash talk. Unlike the previous press conference in New York, the cordiality dissipated as the event progressed.
Paul (9-1) took down Tyson (50-6) and said he would be the last guy to sleep with him.
“I respect Mike and he’s a legend,” Paul said. “But it’s time. It’s my turn now. There’s a reason I have the same birthday as Cus D’Amato, because I’m going to teach you boxing, Mike.
Tyson repeatedly called Paul “fat” and questioned the YouTuber-turned-boxer’s resume and power. He also promised to knock Paul out with the first punch he throws.
“He can’t even knock out [Nate] Diaz,” Tyson said. “[Nate] Diaz weighs 40 pounds. How are you going to knock me out? Who is the other guy? Anderson Silva. He didn’t knock those little guys out. How is he going to knock me out? …Who did he knock out? Who did he knock out? Little children. He never really knocked out a man. Let’s go.”
All that trash talk may not have even been necessary to sell the fight. According to press conference host Brian Custer, the fight broke the biggest live combat sports gate in Texas history less than 24 hours after tickets went on sale to the public. A specific number was not revealed.
Thursday’s press conference took place just over two months before the July 20 event at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The event will be broadcast on Netflix and will mark the streaming service’s first dive into live combat sports.
It’s headlined by a rematch of one of the best women’s boxing fights of all time, with Amanda Serrano (46-2-1) and Katie Taylor (23-1) clashing once again. Both women were also present at Thursday’s press conference.
Check out a highlight of the press conference in the video above.
