In a sports crossover that few saw coming, YouTube personality Jake Paul is set to fight former heavyweight champion of the world Mike Tyson on July 20 at the AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Given the controversy that both parties tend to attract, the bout is one of the most anticipated events on this year’s sporting calendar, not least because the pair have traded some pretty public barbs in the lead-up to the event.
The most puzzling pre-fight antics have come courtesy of Jake Paul, which we kind of expect from the guy who illegally touts cryptocurrencies and once got married purely for social media engagement. This time, his stunts are focused squarely on his imminent opponent, with Paul recently revealing a facial tattoo identical to Tyson’s.
However, this is Jake Paul after all, so it’s always worth asking; did Jake Paul get the Mike Tyson tattoo, or is it a fake promotional stunt?
Did Jake Paul get the Mike Tyson tattoo?
Earlier this month, Jake Paul appeared in social media videos sitting in a tattoo parlor, with the artist applying what seemed like an identical design to the one already synonymous with Mike Tyson. It was quickly revealed to be the same tribal pattern that Tyson has on the left side of his face, a tattoo the former boxer first got in 2003.
Paul’s taunting went well beyond imitation. In the same video, the freshly tattooed YouTuber can be seen repeating one of Tyson’s old speeches word-for-word, with mentions of making Tyson his “girlfriend” and promising to “eat his children.” In any case, it appears Paul’s face tattoo is not real, with the account who posted the clip writing that while it is “definitely fake,” it makes for “hell of a promo video.”
It marks the latest in a long string of pre-fight taunts directed at Tyson. Last week, Paul shared a video (with the fake face tattoo) of himself biting a prosthetic ear, clipped together with images of a man with a bloodied ear. The video references Tyson’s infamous fight against Evander Holyfield in 1997, when the boxer bit off Holyfield’s ear. The move cost Tyson both the game and his boxing licence, though he was later reinstated.
For his part, Tyson has been largely taking the higher road, simply sharing videos of himself preparing for the fight against Paul with expletive-filled captions like “You still wanna f*** with me?.” The tit-for-tat adds extra fanfare to an already hotly anticipated sporting event, and audiences can watch it all go down on Netflix on July 20.