When the world found out that former YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul would be boxing the legendary Mike Tyson, the average response was: “Why is that famous boxer fighting that YouTube guy the kids used to watch?”
There was (understandably) quite a bit of confusion about why the 58-year-old Tyson, who hasn’t boxed for four years, would fight an upstart like Paul, who is 27 and has been attempting to build a legitimate name for himself in the sport.
Tyson cleared that up in a recent interview with Esquire by Timothy Bella.
“Can I be honest?” Tyson said. “I don’t think he can hurt me.”
Paul has a 9-1 record, so Tyson might not be 100% right on that one. But there’s more to this than Tyson’s irrepressible confidence. Bella pointed out that Tyson is an addict, and Tyson said right now he’s only addicted to a few things: marijuana, his wife of 15 years telling him he’s a good husband, and something left from his old days glory.
Im a glory junkie. I love people thinking about me all day, he says. Id rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity. Its just who I am.
This is all I started fighting forto get all this f***ing status. Im going to be chasing it for the rest of my life. I know that. Im never going to get what I want, because Im one of those gluttons for pain. I can never get enough.
Fighting a 27-year-old former YouTuber is definitely a way to get that familiar glorious feeling again, but it could also be a way for Tyson to cure his gluttony for pain. Because he could be in for quite a lot of it come November.
The Tyson-Paul match was originally supposed to take place in mid-July, but Tyson had an ulcer flare up in May, which pushed the bout back to November. Paul is still fighting this weekend, but will be facing former UFC fighter and Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star Mike Perry.