Jake Paul and Mike Tyson are just hours away from facing off in the ring.
The contest – sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations – has drawn plenty of criticism from the boxing world due to the massive gap in age and activity that favours Paul.
Regardless of the controversy, it is being discussed as much as one would expect a Netflix-backed event to be. With record viewership on the line, how the fight will play out is still anybody’s guess.
Though many feel that it will be a cloaked exhibition in which neither man will be seriously hurt, Tyson did all he could at the weigh-in to make it real, slapping Paul across the face.
Speaking to The Schmo, Tyron Woodley, who has fought and lost to the YouTuber-turner-fighter twice – said the slap was a glimpse of ‘old killer Mike’.
“He’s been so relaxed. I think he’d been such an animal for so many years, all through the eighties, and I feel like he’s relaxed over the years. We see he’s smiling more, he’s got the show, he’s more gentle and more open with his emotions. I feel like he tapped back in to that old killer Mike.”
On the fight, the former UFC Welterweight Champion plotted routes to victory for both men.
“Jakes got a reach advantage … The only fighters that did well against Mike are the ones that had a great jab. If I was coaching Jake, I would say jab, jab, motion. Use your athleticism. Use your youth. Make him move. Make him miss. Make him follow you and clinch him up. Try to take it into the third, fourth round and then try to go to work.
I think if you try to go to work with somebody like Mike early, his muscle memory is just too amazing. He’s an encyclopedia of combinations and counters.”
Tyson vs Paul is propped up by an excellent chief support in the form of Katie Taylor’s highly-anticipated rematch with Amanda Serrano.
