Mike Tyson on Jake Paul bout: ‘I started him and I’m going to finish him’

Mike Tyson says that he is partly responsible for the rise of Jake Paul — and that he intends to bring the YouTube star crashing back down to earth when they meet in the ring in November.

Tyson, 58, will compete in a professional boxing match for the first time in two decades at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 15 in a bout to be broadcast live on Netflix. The contest will come almost exactly four years after Paul’s second professional bout, which came against former NBA player Nate Robinson on the undercard of Mike Tyson’s exhibition fight with fellow veteran Roy Jones Jr in November 2020. Paul won by second round knockout.

And speaking on the It Is What It Is podcast, as noted by MMA Fighting, Tyson said that he feels he bears some responsibility for Paul’s rise in boxing — and that he will relish putting an end to it in a few weeks time in Texas.

“He’s improved since the first time he fought,” Tyson admitted of the 27-year-old Paul, who holds a 10-1 professional record.

“I started him off, I started Jake off,” Tyson continued. “I let him fight on my undercard four years ago, no one knew who the hell he was. So I started him and, most likely, it looks like I’m going to finish him.”

Tyson also noted the entry in boxing by his friend, UFC boss Dana White, who said on Tuesday that he expects his boxing venture to get rolling in 2025.

“That’s going to be the best thing to happen to boxing, just like UFC,” Tyson said.

“If you’re in UFC, and if anybody’s booing the fight, you’re not going to see that guy. His next fight is going to be in South Dakota somewhere. Only good fights. If you don’t have a good fight, you ain’t never going to see that guy again.

“Not like boxing, ‘This guy’s going to fight next month again? We don’t want to see that.’ If any fights stink, you’re not back in the UFC no more, you’re never going to see those guys again.”