NEW YORK — For the first time since arguably the most curious pairing in recent boxing history was announced, Mike Tyson and Jake Paul met face to face.
Inside the iconic Apollo Theater, where singular artists like Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, James Brown and Lauryn Hill once performed, Tyson and Paul held a press conference — alongside undercard fighters Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano — to hype their July 20 boxing match that will stream on Netflix at no additional cost to subscribers.
The atmosphere was festive and relaxed. There was no bad blood. The fighters in both matches expressed abundant respect and admiration for their opponents. During the face-off photo op at the end, as Tyson and Paul held their stares inches apart from each other, Tyson even playfully shadow boxed Paul with quick hooks to his opponent’s body. Both then broke out in laughter and lightly shoved each other.
Certainly, there was the usual bravado that characterizes these events.
“Yeah, look, they call him ‘Iron Mike’ Tyson,” Paul said at one point, “but I’m titanium Jake Paul.”
And this: “I’m going to show Mike who has more power.”
Yet, the press conference struggled at times to stake its promotion of the event as an exhibition, or the officially sanctioned fight that it has become.
An hour before it kicked off, the line for fans to file into the Apollo snaked around 125th Street and 8th Avenue. They wore New York Knicks hats and Tyson T-shirts with screen prints of his face splashed across the chest. The crowd, undoubtedly, was more sympathetic toward Tyson, who hails from the Brownsville neighborhood in east Brooklyn.
But there was also a contingent of younger audience members who professed their loyalty to Paul, whose platform on YouTube and social media has made him an icon for a generation with an unconventional, if uneven, exposure to boxing.
During an audience question-and-answer portion, a 16 year old from Queens who introduced himself as Xavier said he was an aspiring boxer who grew up watching Paul and his brother, Logan, and thanked them both for “making” his childhood.
The boy went on to reveal that he was pulling for Paul — “please don’t kill me, Mike” — and asked Paul what advice he would give young people with limited financial means who are interested in boxing. By the end of the exchange, Paul motioned for someone from his support team to take the boy’s information down because he promised to send him “a bunch of gear and stuff.”
Tyson, with an almost quizzical look on his face, leaned into the microphone and said he couldn’t believe this was happening at a press conference.
“Forgive me,” he added. “I’m an old dude. This is new.”
The host, combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, responded to Tyson by alluding to the draw and reach of Netflix, saying that “Netflix wasn’t even a thing when you were fighting.”
Tyson simply shrugged his shoulders and said: “It is now, I guess.”
In any case, Tyson was clearly the main draw, at least here in Harlem.
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As Helwani worked his way through the initial introductions of the four fighters on the card, the crowd’s energy steadily intensified until it was time to get to Tyson. The lights in the Apollo went dark while a video played on the big screen behind the stage. As soon as the video concluded, a single spotlight shone on Tyson, an introduction unlike any of the three fighters before him.
Taylor, the Irish female boxer who is currently a two-weight undisputed champion, revealed that it was a “dream” to fight on the same card as Tyson. Before the Tyson-Paul fight, Taylor will face Serrano in a rematch of their thrilling battle two years ago in Madison Square Garden.
But when she was asked about her own fight, Taylor’s first comments were to admit being starstruck.
“I think last year if my family had said what do I want to do before I retire, is there anything I want to achieve in the sport or anybody who I’d want to meet, one of things I’d have said is I’d love to meet Mike Tyson,” Taylor said. “And here he is beside me. An icon of the sport, a legend of the sport and this is just incredible. … I’m pinching myself.”
Tyson said he’s “doing great” but admitted without a hint of irony that his “body is (expletive) right now.”
He has faced some criticism for taking on this fight despite his age, and arguably the key question in the matchup concerns his fitness and conditioning.
“I’m really sore,” he added. “I wish (I was playing possum).”
Tyson, 57, has a birthday at the end of June. He retired in 2005, though he most recently fought in November 2020 in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. This may very well be the last chance fans have to see him in the ring. Tyson, however, left the door wide open for another potential return to the ring.
“Hey, this seems like it’s going to be pretty fun,” he said. “Maybe we’ll do it again, too.”
When pressed about any other fighters he may have his eye on, Tyson very quickly deflected, saying: “Well, can I take care of Jake first?”
Before all that, the promotional tour now heads to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the site of the fight, for another press conference Thursday night.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jake Paul, Mike Tyson meet at press conference promoting their fight
