Explained: Why Mike Tyson beat Jake Paul at weigh-in | Boxing news

Mike Tyson beats Jake Paul (PTI Photo)

Mike Tyson punched Jake Paul during their weigh-in on Thursday night, with Tom Patti, a long-time friend of Tyson’s, explaining that the incident occurred because Paul had stepped on Tyson’s foot.
Footage from the weigh-in appears to show Paul momentarily stepping on the front of Tyson’s right foot before quickly moving back. In response, Tyson slapped Paul across the face with his right hand and gestured to the floor. Both were quickly separated.
“Jake stepped on Mike’s foot, that got the reaction,” Patti told USA Today.
“I was there and Mike just told me,” he added.
Patti and Tyson share a long history, having trained together under Cus D’Amato in Catskill, New York. From 1982 to 1987 they lived in D’Amato’s house. Patti later entered politics and was elected to the San Joaquin County (Calif.) Board of Supervisors in 2016, a move Tyson said he encouraged.

Paul later crawled towards Tyson before standing up. Video footage suggests Paul stepped on Tyson’s right foot with his left during this interaction.
“My personal opinion (is) that Jake shows enough disrespect that he starts crawling up to Mike and then throws himself in front of him … like some kind of squirming animal. Mike put him in his place,” Patti noted.
Despite their clash, Tyson and Paul have appeared together regularly since announcing their fight in March and often appear friendly. In May, both dismissed speculation that their fight was staged.
But before the fight, Tyson has seemed more and more withdrawn, while Paul has taken a more confrontational tone. According to Patti, Tyson’s actions at the weigh-in signal that he is “done with all the hype. It’s time to fight.”