Mike Tyson has revealed why he slapped Jake Paul during their weigh-in yesterday, as the pair prepare for their fight in Texas.
The Arlington bout — which will be shown on Netflix and live blogged by ABC Sport from 12pm AEDT today — hit fever pitch yesterday when Tyson slapped Paul after the YouTuber squared up with the boxing legend.
While speculation was rife that the slap was scripted, new footage shows Paul stepped on Tyson's toe just before the altercation.
"I was in my socks and he had on shoes," Tyson said.
"He stepped on my toe because he is a f***ing a**hole. I wanted to think it happened by accident. But now I think it may have happened on purpose."
Tyson has previously revealed he suffers from having sensitive feet and once struggled to fight after an opponent accidentally stepped on his toes.
"If somebody stepped on my feet, my toes would blow up," he said.
"It's horrible. I'd have to tap out right away."
Paul later taunted Tyson about the slap.
"I didn't even feel it — he's angry," Paul said.
"He's an angry little elf … cute slap buddy."
The lead-up to the fight has been one akin to pro-wrestling, with carefully constructed marketing rife throughout the build-up as Netflix debuts as a boxing platform.
It is Netflix's biggest live sports event to date, and an opportunity to make sure the platform can handle audience demand with the NFL and WWE on the horizon.
The bout between the YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul, and Tyson, a 58-year-old former heavyweight champion, will stream globally and be available to Netflix's 280 million subscribers at no additional cost, with predictions it may be the most-watched fight in the history of boxing.
Netflix will broadcast the bout in English, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and German. It was originally scheduled for July 20, but was delayed by Tyson having a medical episode on a plane and needing time to recover from a stomach ulcer.
