Mike Tyson had to be dragged away from an enraged Jake Paul after slapping the YouTuber in the face at the weigh in for their curious ballyhooed Friday night fight here.
That sudden explosion of the Baddest Man On The Planet of old ignited a maul on the stage and provoked a screaming reaction from the idol of social media.
‘It’s personal now,’ Paul ranted. ‘Now he’s got to die.’ Which is the fate many fear may befall a 58-year-old boxer making a comeback two decades after his last professional fight.
As Paul vowed to make Tyson pay, Iron Mike had already left the stage, simply muttering ‘talk is over’ as he went.
A single clip to the cheek was mild by comparison with Tyson’s terrorising of opponent’s in his world heavyweight championship pomp.
But the fight face is very much back on. In that regard he looks every day of his 58 years.
Mike Tyson landed a slap on Jake Paul at the face-off after their weigh-in
The pair had to be separated after Tyson landed a physical blow on his opponent
Tyson outweighed Paul by just over a pound before slapping his rival on stage
But when the shirt came off for the weigh-in for his contrived comeback, the body was as toned and muscled as in his rampaging prime as world heavyweight champion so much so that his condition freed gasps among the cheers.
Paul, the YouTube celebrity who will be Iron Mike’s first professional opponent for 19 years, disguises his boyish face between a tousled red mane and a shaggy beard.
But there was no hiding the slight puffiness of face and about the midriff, which you might expect of a lad in his mid to late 20s whose life is as social as his media outpourings.
Quite how their respective weights will impact whatever is to unfold in the Dallas Cowboys Stadium this Friday night is as unclear as the confused betting lines which offer the unusually short price of 10-2 for the draw.
But for the record Tyson came in at 228.4 lbs, Paul slightly lighter at 227. 2.
‘I don’t know why he did that,’ Paul shouted. Whatever the reason, he does know that will help sell the tickets still available at the 80,000 capacity venue.