Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has quite the test ahead of him, as he prepares to fight YouTube star turned professional boxer Jake Paul. However, in the meantime, ‘Iron’ Mike is busy taking shots at his Cleveland-born opponent on social media. You’re probably wondering, what does that have to do with Hollywood legends, right?

Well, here’s what happened. Ahead of his November 15th showdown at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ has been sharing updates on his training and life through a ‘Behind the Mike’ series on YouTube. Meanwhile, in the latest episode of the series, Mike visited renowned magician David Blaine’s show in Las Vegas. 

During the filming of the said behind-the-scene episode, Tyson ran into the ‘Godfather’ actor, Hollywood legend Al Pacino, and his partner Noor Alfallah. Amid the chaos of this surprise encounter in the green room, Alfallah asked Tyson about his upcoming bout against ‘The Problem Child,’ though she didn’t seem to remember Paul’s name. 

Curious, Alfallah asked Tyson, “Wait, Mike, who are you fighting? You’re fighting one of those boys, right?” While Paul is popular, it appears his popularity hasn’t reached the Hollywood elites quite yet. Regardless, Alfallah reminded Tyson, “You better win.” Later, Tyson took the clip of this exchange and shared it on his X account, taking a dig at Paul’s popularity. 

Tyson wrote, alongside the clip, “@JakePaul I think she means you.” Interestingly, as the fight night is drawing close with each passing day, the verbal exchanges between Tyson and Paul have been intensifying as well, promising a successful debut for Netflix nearing the end of this year. However, did you know even Mike Tyson didn’t know who Jake Paul was before agreeing to fight Paul? 

Mike Tyson admits to not knowing Jake Paul

On September 20th, 2024, the heavyweight legend appeared on the ‘It Is What It Is’ podcast, where he revealed that he never knew who Jake Paul was. You see, ‘El Gallo’ Paul fought in the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition fight, where Paul knocked out NBA player Nate Robinson. 

Reflecting on their encounter during his exhibition fight back in 2020, Tyson said, “I didn’t know who the hell he was.” However, now that Tyson has gotten to know the former Disney star, he claimed, “He’s improved since he started.” However, Paul hasn’t improved enough for Tyson, who added, “I started him and it looks like I’m going to finish him.”

With less than two months left in their cross-generational bout, Mike Tyson and Jake Paul don’t seem to be in the mood to let go of an opportunity to take digs at each other. However, the question is, who will get the last laugh?