Paul vs Tyson LIVE: Latest updates and start time as tension builds for fight night after weigh-in slap

Jake Paul has trolled Mike Tyson by wearing a $100,000 ear cover in reference to the former heavyweight world champion’s infamous history with biting opponents.

Reports suggest the item from Vobara is worth six figures, with Paul acquiring it ahead of Friday’s bout on Netflix.

Paul made reference to protecting his ear in a swipe related to Tyson and his notorious move to chew down on rival Evander Holyfield’s ear in their 1997 heavyweight rematch.

“There’s nothing nice about me,” Mike Tyson said, speaking to The Independent and other publications over Zoom, two weeks before his fight with Jake Paul.

“I’m not a nice person. I’m a decent person, I try to do the right thing. But a nice person, I am not. Anybody with the [idea] that I’m a nice person is gonna be disappointed. I’m just not. I don’t make people happy for no reason, I’m just who I am. I’m not trying to gain friends, that’s basically what I’m saying.

“I don’t want to make friends with you, I don’t care if you put me on your yacht, I don’t give a f***. I’m not gonna ever be nice to nobody; I’ll be kind, but never nice.”

There is no hate, no love, the gloves are big and the rounds will be short when Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight on Friday night.

Tyson is 58 now, reformed, grey at the edges, his eyes have softened with his belly and each attempt at spitting venom sounds fake. Well, it probably is, so what? He was once Iron Mike, the youngest heavyweight champion in history, so please show some respect.

Paul, in his own unique way, has single-handedly ruined the boxing careers of many UFC stars and exposed them inside the boxing ring as flat-footed swingers; now the former child performer is hunting down faded kings of the ring. It is the unmade Rocky movie with a twist: can the old king beat the young kid? It’s the age-old boxing tale.

But here’s what you don’t understand about the fight…

Read Steve Bunce’s preview in full:

The estimated ring walk time for Paul and Tyson is now around 12 hours away – that’s thought to be around 4.30am GMT. Below is the full undercard, as well as some estimated ring walk times.

Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson (heavyweight) – est. 4.30am GMT.

Katie Taylor (defending C) vs Amanda Serrano 2 (undisputed women’s super-lightweight titles) – est. 2.30am GMT.

Mario Barrios (interim C) vs Abel Ramos (WBC welterweight title)

Shadasia Green vs Melinda Watpool (vacant women’s WBO super-middleweight title)

Lucas Bahdi vs Armando Casamonica (super-lightweight)

Bruce Carrington vs Dana Coolwell (featherweight)

Neeraj Goyat vs Whindersson Nunes (middleweight)

With regards to Paul’s comments over deciding ‘the face of boxing’, that ‘title’ seems a difficult one to decide of late.

The era of the bona fide superstars is perhaps over to an extent, with fighters such as Floyd Mayweather having retired, though some will undoubtedly argue that others such as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez have carried the mantle since.

And whatever you think of the status of various boxers, the question over the current ‘face’ of the sport is an interesting one.

Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua and Canelo could all claim to have been the sport’s most notable athlete at various points, though with recent results – and the character of some compared to others – the question becomes more complex.

Heavyweights tend to capture the imagination more – certainly among novice or ‘armchair’ fans – though Canelo’s prolonged activity and the emergence of fighters in other divisions has challenged that notion.

Speaking earlier this year, retired two-weight champion Andre Ward said that Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davies were the ‘face’ of the sport. Later in the same interview, he added  four-weight champion Terence Crawford to that list too.

Jake Paul is adamant he will fight Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez following his bout with Mike Tyson.

Paul now stands at 10-1 after his loss to Tommy Fury in February of 2023, though he has since defeated ex-UFC stars Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.

His first bout came in January 2020 against fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, before he entered the ring against professional sportsmen – first in the form of ex-NBA player Nate Robinson, and then against ex-wrestler Ben Askren.

Since then, Paul has also fought and beaten ex-UFC star Tyron Woodley, and – perhaps most famously – UFC legend and hall-of-fame middleweight Anderson Silva.

Paul has already fought twice this year, beating Ryan Bourland in March and Mike Perry in July.

Tyson, 58, and YouTube star Paul, 27, were due to fight in July but had to delay the bout when the heavyweight icon had a health scare.

Here’s all you need to know about how to watch the huge boxing event on Netflix.

Tonight has plenty of highlights to look forward to – the rematch of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano is set to be an epic. They weighed in last night at exactly the same level…

Tony Bellew crashed the press conference for Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson on Wednesday, holding a “Fisher Price” microphone as he was accompanied by an old man in boxing gloves – before the pair were kicked out.

Britain’s Bellew, a former world champion, was in the crowd wearing a t-shirt showing the logo of a betting site, and he was standing alongside an older man in a boxing robe and gloves. Bellew also had a microphone, with which he spoke over a journalist who was asking a question inside Toyota Music Factory.

Bellew’s words were difficult to hear, but he appeared to call Paul a “clown”, while host Ariel Helwani tried to drown out the 41-year-old, comparing Bellew’s microphone to a “Fisher Price” toy.