“What I promise to the people is on July 20th, Mike will be put to sleep and he will feel my power and I will go down as the man who put Tyson to sleep for the last time,” said Jake Paul, ahead of his July 20 fight on Netflix against Mike Tyson.

The two fighters went face to face in Arlington, Texas, yesterday, where they will fight at the AT&T Stadium in a controversial clash, almost one month after the iconic Tyson turns 58. 

“He's not going to win,” countered Tyson. “He can't even knock out Nate D [Nate Diaz] who is like 40 pounds. How's he going to knock me out? Who’s the other guy? Anderson Silva…. He didn't knock out Tommy Fury. He didn't knock those little guys out, [how’s he going to] knock me out?... Who did he knock out? Little children… [he] never knocked out a real man.” 

Both fighters have denied that the fix is in ahead of the clash, and that the bout will be scripted.

“I hope y'all keep that same energy when I knock this old man the f*ck out. Clearly, they don't have a high IQ in here, but that's a federal crime,” said Paul, while Tyson simply said: “I started Jake off and I’m gonna finish him.”  

The fighters took turns to taunt one another, naturally in an event to build the event. Tyson called Paul fat, with the influencer nodding to the 1990 fight Tyson had with Buster Douglas, seven years before Paul was born, saying: “Hey, Buster Douglas was fat. Am I right? I know, but you know Buster Douglas, I'm better. I'm going to end you quicker than he did and you'll remember that forever. You started me off. [Paul made his pro boxing debut on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.] I appreciate that. Mike, I love you. I love you like a father loves his son, but I must discipline you. You're going down, man.” 

Some are fearful for Tyson going into the fight, others think he will blitz Paul but, asked whether there was a chance the event could legitimise Paul as a fighter, he answered: “They say he's the baddest man on the planet, so let's find out. Apparently he's the final boss… I love the biggest challenges in the world. That's what's made my whole entire career is taking big risks and I want the toughest guy out there. I want the biggest fights and making history is what I've done my whole entire career. And this is no different. Netflix, Mike Tyson. It doesn't get any bigger than this and everyone will see July 20th.”