Tyson happy for money to talk amid mayhem

Despite all the hype, veteran knows there is nothing new to say before the charade of his fight with a YouTube star

- Donald McRae

Mike Tyson sat in almost magnificent silence, refusing to engage in the bombast and bluster of the final press conference before he fights Jake Paul in a charade of a contest late tonight in Arlington, Texas. As I stared at his familiar tattooed face I remembered what he had told me on a sweltering afternoon in the summer of 1991.

We sat then in a stinking Las Vegas gym and Tyson tapped me on the hand in reminder of a bleak truth. "Look what happens to fighters," he said, "even the best of them. Joe Louis ended up a doorman at Caesars Palace. He was in a wheelchair at the end. Sonny Liston died in this town, a drunk and a junkie with no money. Even Ali, look at Ali. I love Ali but when they introduce him at my fights I look away. Sure, they cheer him, but where's his beauty now, his speed, his talent? It's gone..."

I wondered what Tyson might have thought if he had been told then that, in November 2024, at the age of 58, he would be back to fight a 27-year-old novice boxer who became famous on something called the internet, where the kid made dumb videos on a mysterious entity known as YouTube. I reckon Tyson would have cackled in dark disbelief if he heard next that he would make $20m (£15.7m) for the stunt while the big-talking non-boxer would rake in $40m.

Ariel Helwani, the astute and polished combat sports journalist hosting the Texas press conference, tried hard with Tyson. But there was no shifting old Mike. "I'm ready to fight," was his most expansive comment as Helwani asked him about the supposed significance of a scrap against Paul on Netflix. Helwani opened up the presser to other reporters.

They also did their best but Tyson remained mute or mumbled a few words. He became engaged only when a female journalist asked a thoughtful question that ended with her wondering: "What would you lose if you lose this fight?"

Tyson leaned forward and spoke clearly. "I'm not gonna lose."