It was supposed to be the last chance for trash-talking and to put their point across. But as Mike Tyson and Jake Paul met for their final press conference, the former could barely have seemed less like he wanted to be there.
Ariel Helwani’s attempts to get any answers were met with remarkably brief responses. The media had just as little success, and even when Jake Paul tried to drag him into an exchange, all he got was “I’m just ready”.
“I’ve said everything I had to say,” Tyson later added. In the pre-planned part of the press conference hosted by Helwani, Tyson said just 21 words, and he said very little more over the remainder of the 45-minute event.
When he returned to the stage for a face-off with Paul, he instantly turned away to leave before being dragged back for their final photos. We established that Tyson is “ready” and a firm “I’m not going to lose”, but that was about it.
- ‘I saw Mike Tyson and Jake Paul up close – I’ve made up my mind on fight outcome’
- Mike Tyson says just 21 words in awkward start to Jake Paul press conference
Whether Tyson is, in fact, truly ready or whether or not he is going to lose is up for some substantial debate. The only thing that does seem clear is that Tyson has very little interest in selling the event set to finally take place this Friday at AT&T Stadium.
In reality, Tyson’s profile largely sells itself. He’s the former ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’, and all he needed to do was showcase some power on the pads on Tuesday evening to remind people of his feared aura.
But the uncomfortable reality is he’s done very little to suggest he has much interest in this fight beyond a payday. Any ideas that Tyson had motivations to come out of retirement and silence the YouTuber to prove some sort of point on behalf of boxing purists is well and truly dead and buried.
The final press conference was a painful affair in which attempting to get any sort of insight or interest from Tyson proved impossible. People will sell it as some steely focus, but the reality is that probably couldn’t be further from the truth.
The unfortunate reality is that Tyson seems to have very little interest in fighting Jake Paul (
Esther Lin / Most Valuable Promotions)
It’s sad to see Tyson has now resorted to these measures. From the outside looking in, it seems like he hates everything about being paraded as the star attraction of this circus act, but still felt compelled to say yes to the riches on offer.
He likely knows this is damaging his legacy. He looked to be somewhat cringing when Bruce Carrington, a Brooklyn-born top prospect on the undercard, reenacted one of his famous monologues on the far side of the stage.
He knows he is still living off former glories. But for as long as that can still generate millions of dollars, why wouldn’t he cash in?
There might well be a school of thought that nothing he can say can make too much difference to whether or not people will tune in to the fight. People are either intrigued or disgusted and no in between.
Paul tried his best to drum up some excitement but got little in return from Tyson (
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images for Netflix)
But if Jake Paul and his MVP Promotions company, or streaming partner Netflix, had any expectations of Tyson to do his bit to pretend this fight really matters to him, they must surely be disappointed.
Asked what he makes of Tyson’s near-silent treatment, Paul complained: “Man, there’s a lot of —- talk online that you’re going to kill me and just nothing in person. I don’t know, it’s pretty boring. Pretty ——- boring.”
While it might be spun as Tyson’s fearsome persona, the reality is that Paul is right. Tyson’s part in the build-up so far has been at best boring and at worst damaging to the idea that this contest is in some way a legitimate fight which carries any meaning beyond a big pay cheque.
