It is hard to take Tyson-Paul seriously, but it is entertaining

NEW YORK — It was a circus. An entertaining, fun circus, larger than three rings, sans the elephants, tigers jumping through fiery hoops, and trapeze artists twirling through the air. Then again, what would you expect when Mike Tyson and Jake Paul meet? They did just that on Sunday at Fanatics Fest NYC 2024 at the Javits Center at what was deemed an exclusive press conference ahead of their Friday, November 15 bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Now 58, Tyson (50-6, 44 knockouts) has not fought in close to two decades, and at 27, Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) has not fought anyone. So, the two, through Paul’s genius, managed to fill a hall for a press conference in which there were maybe four legitimate members of the media, a pile of fanboy media and a horde of ravenous fans.

Somehow, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has officially sanctioned this as a heavyweight fight.

Tyson and Paul took questions from the supposed “media” and they played to the crowd. Paul took great zeal in playing the villain, cursing and sneering, going into serious WWE mode. Tyson, laughing at times at the spectacle, tried to be menacing, though he did it with a mischievous, playful grin.

“It is going to be one of the biggest boxing events in all of boxing history,” one of the emcees said.

They tried to pander to the crowd’s most basic fandom hate—politics and New York’s vehement dislike for the Dallas Cowboys.

At one point, Paul blurted out he was making $40 million off this fight. While trying to talk over the din of the crowd, he uttered, “Shut the f–k up, New York. Boo yourselves. Boo yourselves, New York. New York, you’re just like Mike Tyson — you were good 20 years ago. F–k you, New York. Dumbass Democratic city.”

That incurred more boos.

Tyson, in the beloved hero role, tried to keep a straight face. A few times, the “Iron Mike” of old appeared, when he sneered at Paul, “I’m gonna f–k you up.” Then, when asked how the fight will go, he said “very painfully” for Paul. Tyson was asked if the fight is going to happen. Tyson said, snickering, “It’s happening … We’re all here.”

The fight will be fought for 10, two-minute rounds, according to Paul.

It is interesting what type of crowd the event drew. Most might not know Canelo Alvarez from a can of paint, but they did seem to know WWE star wrestler Roman Reigns—and some might have even thought that professional wrestling was real and not scripted. And we’re not talking about the kids, rather the grown men there holding up their mock WWE title belts.

With hardly any real media there, no real questions were asked.

The fans chanted “Tyson, Tyson, Tyson.” Paul, who once played a character called Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series Bizaardvark for two seasons, was the better actor and actually deserves quite a bit of credit for pulling off this stunt. On the surface, he is in a no-win situation: If he losses to a 58-year-old, way-past-his-dangerous-prime Mike Tyson, Paul loses. If he pounds on the worn, pushing-60 Tyson, Paul still loses for beating up an old man.

Behind the curtains, Paul is in a can’t-lose spot. The fight, teamed with the very real Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano rematch, will be streamed live to 277 million Netflix subscribers at no additional pay-per-view cost. The gullible mainstream seems sold, proven by the torrent of attention the presser (that was not a presser) cultivated on Sunday.

The looming question is: Will they actually fight, or will they try and make it look good by going with a scripted WWE plot?

What made this originally so appealing was Tyson cracking Paul. That may not happen. At least not by the way the two interacted on Sunday.

As they came together for the “staredown,” Tyson once again tried holding back the laughter. To try and stir the crowd, Tyson pushed Paul. He tried to conceal his own laugher doing it. Paul, trying to put his best Disney face on, pushed Tyson. The two faced each other trying to look menacing.

To the kids in the audience and the grown men with their WWE t-shirts and belts, it looked real.

Old-school crusty fight fans will not give Paul his due. He has not earned it yet in the ring. But he does train hard. He very much lives a boxing life. You sense he is serious about one day being a world champion. Whether or not he has the skills remains to be seen. He plays the villain well. Paul does know how to market himself, and he does know how to play a role. Paul’s net worth is an estimated $80 million and growing. Canelo Alvarez’s net worth is an estimated $275 million. To get there, Paul will one day have to face someone very real.

A faded Mike Tyson is not the way.

For the time being, Paul has many who live in pretend world believing it—a lot like a Disney cartoon to a child, fanboy media or grown men brandishing WWE belts on Sunday.

Repeating what Tyson said, “It’s happening. We’re all here.”

Are we all on board that it will be for real?

Not many.

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]

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