‘He Has to Fight Like His Life Depends On It’: Mike Tyson and Jake Paul Face Off in New York

At the famous Apollo Theater in New York, Jake Paul and Mike Tyson faced off for the first time since Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced their upcoming fight for July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The card will stream exclusively on Netflix, with the highly anticipated co-main event of Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) vs. Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (46-2-1, 30 KOs) taking place. Ariel Helwani spoke to Paul, Tyson, Taylor and Serrano, with each having plenty to say ahead of July 20. All quotes are from a Most Valuable Promotions press release.

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul Meet at New York Press Conference

Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul: ‘The Problem Child‘ Quotes

Paul spoke about how hard it was to finalise the fight: “Yeah no, he was game. I think he’s always wanted to do this. This has been a long time coming. We’ve been calling each other out for years and we finally got to make it happen on Netflix, the biggest platform in the world, and things just keep on getting bigger and better. The co-main event [Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano]… I mean this is quite literally history that we’re looking at right here. Mike wanted this. Mike wanted it to be a pro-fight. He wants the war, and so I respect that. I respect him for taking this fight, for stepping up to try to put an end to me because that’s what all these fighters have been trying to do is end the YouTuber and if Mike can do that, then he’s a hero.”

“The Problem Child” also spoke about those who doubt him: “I’m going to show the world that I can outbox Mike Tyson, prove everyone wrong, and show that I will be the one doing the killing.”

On the fight being confirmed as a pro fight, he said: “After the contract was signed, we got a call from Mike’s team and they were like, ‘Hey, he wants it to be a pro fight for sure. He wants that. He wants to put it all on the line.’ I respect Mike for that and if he wanted it to be that, then let’s run it.”

Speaking on Tyson‘s power, Paul said: “I’m a natural-born heavyweight. This is what I was born to do, to move up into this weight class. I’m going to show Mike who has more power because he’s underestimating me. I think everyone else is underestimating me and I believe that I hit harder. I know it’s going to be tough. I know I’m going to have to fight through adversity. I know I might even go to the canvas. I’m scared, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not about the fear stopping me. It’s about going into it, even though I am scared. That’s what true bravery is.”

He added: “Yeah, look, they call him Iron Mike Tyson, but I’m titanium Jake Paul.”

Mike Tyson Quotes

Tyson spoke on why he accepted the fight: “It was a no-brainer. He was a new up-and-coming guy on the scene, and I like shaking the sports world to its core and I’m doing it now. It’s just something I want to do.”

“Iron Mike” had the crowd laughing when he was asked about the age difference between himself and Paul: “I’m beautiful. That’s all I can say. (Crowd roars with laughter.)”

Tyson also fired a warning to his opponent: “Once he’s in that ring, he has to fight like his life depends on it, because it will be.”

Speaking on shorter rounds, Paul said: “I wanted the shorter rounds because I wanted more action. If we only have two minutes, we’ll fight more.”

Katie Taylor Quotes

When asked about a possible trilogy against Serrano, Taylor said: “The trilogy is not on my mind right now. I beat her the first time, and I plan on beating her the second time.”

Taylor spoke about how the fight came together: “Well, I just got a phone call from my manager Brian a few weeks ago saying I was going to be on the same card as Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. And this is just a dream for me. I think last year my family had said to me, what do you want to do before I retire? Is there anything I want to achieve in a sport or anybody who I’d want to meet? And one of the things I said is I’d love to meet Mike Tyson and here you beside me, an icon of the sport, a legend of the sport. And this is just incredible.”

When asked about fighting on the same card as Tyson: “He’s just a legend and icon on the sport. And I fell in love with a sport in the nineties and Mike Tyson was the biggest name of boxing during that time. He was ferocious and is super exciting to watch and he’s a real historian as well. I love your knowledge of boxing. I love listening…. I just cannot believe I’m sitting next to Mike Tyson right now. I’m pinching myself.”

Taylor also discussed fighting at 140 pounds: “Yeah, I feel really good at this weight….lots of women fighters do go up and down the weights, and so I do feel very, very strong this way. The last fight myself and Amanda fought, it was an epic fight. It was an iconic fight. It was in front of 20,000 people in Madison Square Garden. It felt like the whole of Puerto Rico and Ireland were there on the stage during that night and now we get to do it again in front of 100,000 people. This is amazing for the sport live on Netflix. Just thank you so much to MVP for giving us this opportunity. This is absolutely iconic.”

Amanda Serrano Quotes

“I think it was always going to happen because Katie and my name are always going to be attached to each other no matter what, and I’m glad to be a part of this to be alongside Katie Taylor. She’s a great champion, but we’re going to go out there and prove to the world that we deserve this platform,“ said Serrano.

She continued:  “[I’m going] to go out there and give it my all. I got training. It’s a little different. I’m training smarter, not harder, and I’m going out there being vintage.”

Speaking on a possible trilogy fight with Taylor: “I mean, we’ll see that night if Katie wants it. I don’t know. We’ll see. I’m just concentrating on this fight, concentrating on making the 140 and going out there and giving it my all.”

Discussing her recovery from the eye injury: “I’m one hundred percent fine. It was the eyelid; it wasn’t in the eyeball, so I’m completely fine. I’m good and ready to go on July 20th. I want to thank everybody at MVP, my trainer, Jordan Maldonado, Netflix, everybody, even Katie Taylor’s team for making this happen. I’m super excited. We’re going to be fighting in Jerry’s world, so I’m excited and I can’t wait till July 20th. I’ll become a two division undisputed champion. What can I say?”