The Conversation (0)
Mike Tyson: 'I won't go out of my way to make someone …
The Independent
Boxing legend Mike Tyson has revealed what his motivation for fighting Jake Paul is, and it’s not for the money.
On Friday 15 November, Tyson and Paul will go head-to-head in a boxing match at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, live-streamed on Netflix.
In the much-anticipated bout, which was previously postponed due to Tyson suffering a medical emergency, the pair appear to have different motivations but the same desire to win.
Speaking to LADbible Group, Tyson revealed that money is not why he’s fighting. The fee is undisclosed, but it is allegedly a “healthy payday”.
Tyson said: “This fight is not going to change my life financially. If I did it for free, it’s not going to change my life financially. My wife is constantly telling me, you do not need to do this fight.”
When asked why he is doing it, he said: “This is what I want to do, this is me. I’m seeking my glory... It is going to be great.”
Getty Images
But, Paul said he believes Tyson is “underestimating” him and that he has the edge over him, mentally.
“I believe I have a mental edge here and I think he is underestimating me, truly,” he said.
“I know he’s training hard but the way he was talking about me – ‘he doesn’t have power, he couldn’t knock out Tommy Fury and Nate Diaz’. Those are true things but I was a much different fighter then. With every year that goes by, I progress exponentially. Especially with the new team that I brought on after those fights.
“I think with the mind games, he isn’t prepared for the new version of who I am as a fighter.”
On the money side of things, Paul told SPORTbible: “There are definitely certain guaranteed figures and other certain built-in bonuses and stuff on top of sales – key performance indicators that trigger certain things.”
He added: “This is definitely my biggest payday, of all the fights for sure. It is definitely a healthy payday.”
Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter
How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
Top 100
