'I was there and saw why Mike Tyson really slapped Jake Paul'

Without wanting to glamourise violence – if indeed Mike Tyson slapping Jake Paul 24 hours before they step into a ring with the sole intention of beating each other up counts as violence – that’s what we’ve been waiting for.

It’s been hard to discern Tyson’s state of mind during fight week here in Dallas, Texas. He’s often a man of few words but his contribution to the press conference on Wednesday was particularly painful.

Paul described Tyson as being ‘f*****g boring’ and fans were unsure whether the sports icon was simply reserving his energy and rising about the incessant trash-talking or if, after months of promotion, he was finally giving the game away and showing his heart’s not truly in it.

This is, after all, his first pro fight in almost two decades. Once the baddest man on the planet, Tyson is now a grandfather who would soon be eligible for a free bus pass in the UK.

There was a time he defended his world heavyweight championship title nine times in a row and had won 27 fights on the bounce. He was the best boxer on the planet and one of the greatest athletes of all time. Now, he’s fighting a YouTuber-turned-boxer.

So Iron Mike would be forgiven for finding it hard to get up for the fight or to be privately reminiscing about his glory days while being insulted and threatened by an opponent 31 years his junior.

Given Tyson’s subdued, even pensive demeanour this week, it was a genuine surprise to see him slap Paul across the face at the weigh-in on Thursday night.

Tyson, 58, slapped his 27-year-old opponent in the face (Picture: Getty)

Tyson confirmed as much in a brief interview with The Post moments after the weigh-in.

Jake Paul stepped on Mike Tyson's toes — Jake Paul stepped on Mike Tyson’s toes (Picture: Instagram)

‘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.’

Of course it should be said that someone stepping on your toes doesn’t have to result in a firm slap to the jaw, but in that charged-up, adrenaline-fuelled atmosphere, it’s easy to see why Tyson might react that way.

Paul weighed in as a heavyweight for the first time (Picture: Getty)

Paul, meanwhile, who is bidding to record his 11th win from 12 pro fights, claimed he ‘didn’t even feel’ the slap and promised to knock Tyson out.

‘He’s angry, he’s an angry little elf,’ said the influencer with over 20 million subscribers on YouTube. ‘Mike Tyson, that was a cute slap buddy but tomorrow you’re getting knocked the f*** out.