Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul exploded into life at Thursday night’s weigh-in as the YouTuber was slapped in the face by the boxing legend.
A 58-year-old Tyson will return to the ring on Friday night to face a 27-year-old Paul in a professionally-sanctioned fight on Netflix.
The pair came face-to-face in Texas but had to be separated by security as Tyson clapped Paul on the chin.
“Talking’s over,” Tyson said, before walking off stage.
Paul responded: “I didn’t even feel it. He’s angry. He’s an angry little elf.
“Mike Tyson, I thought that was a cute slap, buddy, but tomorrow you’re getting knocked the f*** out.
“I’m f****** him up, Ariel [Helwani]. I’m f****** him up. He hits like a b****. It’s personal now. It’s personal now. He must die.”
Ex-heavyweight champion Tyson has since insisted the slap was retaliation for Paul stepping on his toe.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer crawled up to Tyson before springing to his feet – and footage shows he appeared to get too close.
“I was in my socks and he had on shoes,” Tyson told The Post moments after the weigh-in.
“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. I was in a lot of pain. I had to reciprocate.”
Even if Tyson’s slap was provoked by Paul’s act, retired British boxer Spencer Oliver believes it shows the 58-year-old is on edge and ready to go.
“I thought Mike Tyson was menacing there,” Oliver told talkSPORT in Dallas.
“We saw a little bit of the Mike Tyson of old.
“He’s got himself in incredible condition. You saw the shape he was in, it was brilliant.
“The slap? It’s in him. That’s that dog in him. Reality has kicked in now. Once you get off those scales, it’s real.
“For Tyson, there’s a switch. Once that switch goes, that’s what you get.”
It won’t be long before Tyson can do a whole lot more than dish out a right-handed slap to the side of Paul’s face.
The bout is expected to get underway at 10pm local time, which is 4am on Saturday in the UK.
80,000 fans are expected to pack into the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, with millions more set to tune in via Netflix to watch Tyson fight in his first professional bout since 2005.
Given the fight is at heavyweight, there would be no battles against the scales for either fighter.
In a pair of Versace-branded trunks and wearing white ankle socks, a 58-year-old Tyson looked shredded as he weighed in at 227.2 pounds (103kg).
As for Paul, he flexed his arms and let out a primal roar, tipping the scales at 228.4 pounds (103.6kg).
