ARLINGTON, Texas – A longtime friend of Mike Tyson said the boxer told him he slapped Jake Paul Thursday night because Paul stepped on his foot.
Video appears to show Paul briefly stepping on the front of Tyson’s right foot and quickly moving his foot back at the weigh-in for their Friday fight at AT&T Stadium. Tyson then slapped Paul across the face with his right hand and pointed toward the ground before the two men were pulled apart.
“Jake stepped on Mike’s foot, that prompted the reaction,’’ Tom Patti, one of Tyson’s longtime friends, told USA TODAY Sports by text message. “I was there and Mike just told me.’’
Patti and Tyson trained together under Cus D’Amato in Catskill, New York, and lived together at D’Amato’s house from 1982 to 1987, Patti said. In 2016, Patti was elected to the San Joaquin County (California) Board of Supervisors and Tyson told USA TODAY Sports in 2021 that he was the one who first encouraged Patti to go into politics.
In town for the fight, Patti said he was at the Toyota Music Factory Thursday night in Irving when the weigh-in drama unfolded. After Tyson and Paul took turns weighing in, the fighters walked to one end of the stage.
That’s where Paul crawled up to Tyson before standing and, apparently, stepping on Tyson’s right foot with his left foot.
“My personal opinion (is) Jake shows enough disrespect that he starts crawling up to Mike and then pouncing in front of him … like some sort of lurching animal. Mike put him in his place,’’ Patti said.
Tyson and Paul often appeared friendly during joint appearances since the fight was first announced in March. In May, both fighters pushed back against speculation the fight was rigged because they appeared to be so chummy.
But Tyson has grown increasingly withdrawn and Paul increasingly antagonistic this week.
Patti said Tyson’s reaction Thursday night at the weigh-in shows he’s “finished with all the publicity. It’s time to fight.’’