Mike Tyson is one of the biggest names in the history of boxing.
“Iron” came into his pugilistic prime right when the pay-per-view (PPV) model became the viewing standard for marquee events. That led to some
monstrous paydays for the former WBC heavyweight champion, the primary reason he would never compete for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
“Five of the biggest UFC fighters combined couldn’t match my pay,” Tyson told a not-so-fat Joe during their conversation for Hard Rock Bet. “I want to be the biggest fighter, the biggest purse. I want all that stuff. When Mike Tyson fights, he shuts everything down.”
But it sounds like Tyson would have loved the opportunity to … well, I’ll let “Iron” explain.
“I want to slam them, I want to hold them, I want to choke them,” Tyson previously told This Is 50. “That’s what you want to do anyway if you’re in a street fight, right? You want to hit them, but you want to get them too, real good. Get them down, get on top of them. So, you have more aspects. If it’s not working this way, you can kick them in the f—king head, you know? If they had big paydays, yes, no doubt about it.”
Spoiler alert: they don’t have big paydays (and probably never will).
Tyson, now 59, will return to the “sweet science” next spring for an exhibition boxing match opposite fellow boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr., the first appearance for “Iron” since the Jake Paul debacle last fall. “Money” remains a huge betting line favorite for their Netflix clash, which is likely to net multimillion dollar paydays for both combatants — the norm for big stars in boxing.
UFC, meanwhile, will continue to hand out pay cuts.
