Emily Brown
Mike Tyson has opened up about why he's taking on a fight against Jake Paul despite the fact any money he gets won't 'change his life financially'.
The highly-anticipated bout between Tyson and Paul is finally set to go ahead on Friday (November 15), after it was delayed earlier this year when Tyson suffered a medical emergency.
The pair will now go head-to-head at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, and the fight will be streamed on Netflix so fans across the globe can finally get an answer as to who will win.
Advert
Both boxers already believe they have a good idea on that front, though, with Paul telling LADbible Group that he believes Tyson is 'underestimating' him.
"I believe I have a mental edge here and I think he is underestimating me, truly," he said.
"I know he’s training hard but the way he was talking about me – ‘he doesn’t have power, he couldn’t knock out Tommy Fury and Nate Diaz’. Those are true things but I was a much different fighter then. With every year that goes by, I progress exponentially. Especially with the new team that I brought on after those fights.
"I think with the mind games, he isn’t prepared for the new version of who I am as a fighter. "
Meanwhile, when asked if he was confident he could still hurt Paul, Tyson simply replied: "It is going to be great."
Tyson hasn't spoken about how much money he could stand to make from his bout in the ring against Paul, and there's been no official announcement about a purse.
However, Paul did hint that there's some serious money involved when he spoke at a news conference in August, saying: "I'm here to make $40 million and knock out a legend."
It seems that money isn't really a factor for Tyson, whose net worth currently stands at an estimated $10 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
When asked by LADbible Group how much he believed he could make from the fight, Tyson said: "This fight is not going to change my life financially. If I did it for free, it’s not going to change my life financially. My wife is constantly telling me, you do not need to do this fight."
Since money isn't his motivation, why exactly is Tyson doing the fight?
Well, he explained: "This is what I want to do, this is me. I’m seeking my glory."
As for Paul, he believes the fight will be his 'biggest payday' of all the fights he's done so far.
"It is definitely a healthy payday," he said.