American heavyweight boxing great Mike Tyson is set to add a rather unique chapter to his boxing career as he prepares to come back to the sport at the age of 58 in order to fight American YouTuber Jake Paul, in an event backed by streaming giant Netflix. When asked about why Tyson had taken up the challenge, the former undisputed world heavyweight champion stated that ‘God’ had asked him to do so, after he experienced hallucinogenic effects while smoking a form of toad venom.
“You rub it (toad venom) down until it becomes fine sand, and then you smoke it,” said Tyson to Interview magazine. The toad is apparently one from the Sonoran Desert, and a substance that Tyson claims to have smoked over 80 times.
“Then you meet God. And this is what God told me to do,” said Tyson, in an attempt to justify fighting Paul (who is 31 years younger) nearly two decades after his last professional fight.
Toad venom, as per herpetologists, is a form of poison. It has not been legalised yet in the United States.
American YouTuber Paul has made a reputation in boxing, having fought 11 professional boxing matches against other YouTubers and celebrities, winning 10 and seven by knockout (KO). Paul boasts 20.8 million subscribers on YouTube and 27.2 million followers on Instagram. However, his bout against Tyson is inarguably his most marketed fight, and will be exclusively streamed on Netflix.
“This fight is not going to change my life or my finances or nothing,” said Mr. Tyson, who acknowledged that the fight was his idea. “You have a YouTuber that has 70 million fans. And I’m the greatest fighter since the beginning of life, so what does that make? That makes an explosion of excitement,” Tyson further added.
Ahead of the fight, Tyson made headlines as he slapped Paul in their final staredown.
The fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson will happen on Saturday, November 16 at 9:30 AM IST, with the undercard events getting underway at 6:30 AM IST.
