Mike Tyson reveals surprising reason he slapped Jake Paul, besides the fact that Paul ‘is an a—hole’

Never bring socks to a shoe fight.

Jesse Holland is among the longest-tenured media professionals in the combat sports news space, covering MMA, professional wrestling and boxing on a full-time basis since early 2004.

Mike Tyson slapped the s—t out of Jake Paul.

Not because “Iron” was trying to drum up last-minute buzz for their Netflix boxing match, which takes place later tonight (Fri., Nov. 15, 2024) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, but rather because Paul stepped on his toe and caused Tyson “a lot of pain.”

2024 has not been a good year for toes.

“I was in my socks and he had on shoes,” Tyson told NY Post. “He stepped on my toe because he is a f–king a–hole. I wanted to think it happened by accident. But now I think it may have happened on purpose. I was in a lot of pain. I had to reciprocate.”

Paul is lucky Tyson wasn’t hungry during weigh ins.

The ultimate payback would be to finish Paul in tonight’s showcase fight. Tyson is currently the betting underdog, which makes sense when you consider the health-challenged pugilist is 58 years old, the same as this former boxing rival when he got smoked.

Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul card right here, starting with YouTube “Prelims” matches, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET (and right here). The remaining PPV main card will air on Netflix at 8 p.m. ET.

To check out the latest and greatest “Tyson vs. Paul” news and notes be sure to hit up our comprehensive event archive right here.