Mike Tyson struggled to answer questions during a rowdy press conference at Fanatics Fest NYC, with one body language expert attributing his strange answers to the 'ridiculous situation'
Mike Tyson was a man of few words during a raucous press conference at Fanatics Fest NYC, but the legendary boxer’s body language said plenty about his mindset leading up to his fight against Jake Paul.
On Sunday, Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) and Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) faced off in front of a rambunctious New York crowd at the Javits Center ahead of their highly-anticipated bout on November 15. The fight - which is set to take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and be streamed on Netflix - had to be rescheduled from its original date of July 20 after the former suffered an ulcer flare-up while aboard a flight back in May.
The pair of fighters took far different approaches to Sunday’s presser, further highlighting the 31-year age gap between them. Paul swiftly assumed the villain role, fervently hurling expletives and barbs in the direction of his opponent and the unfriendly crowd. Tyson, meanwhile, remained stoic despite his heated surroundings, routinely answering questions in only a handful of words and at times struggling to come up with something to say.
Body language expert Judi James told Mirror Sport U.S. that Tyson looked to be out of his element, seemingly taken aback by the circus-like atmosphere that engulfed him.
“Tyson fails to come alive during the trash talk, despite being prodded hard,” she said. “He looks and sounds like a man now used to more polite and respectful interviews.
“He stalls at more than one question, sounding distracted or confused. Asked how it feels to be fighting a more hated man he cocks his head, raises his hand and rubs his chin, performing a long pause before asking the host to ‘Say it again.’ Another question gets a hand thrown out and a groan with no words forming.
Mike Tyson appeared to be taken aback by the circus-like atmosphere at the Javits Center
“Mike’s pauses and delays and his confused-sounding answers could be down to what he might feel is a ridiculous situation,” James continued. “The man has fought the best and now he is sitting with a ‘YouTuber’ in front of a completely different generation audience. He might also have been deafened by the noise. We hear what the mics pick up but in a very noisy room like this the questions don’t always carry as they get drowned out."
As for Paul, James noted his love for theatrics, which has helped in drawing far more eyes to his professional fights. Now in the twilight of his boxing career, Tyson appeared to have no interest in playing the 27-year-old’s games.
“Jake Paul’s talent for panto is immeasurable,” James said. “He is clearly in awe of Tyson but he delivers trash talk that soaks up the boos that Tyson himself once used to get.
“Tyson acted like a man who should be in the boxing hall of fame not getting goaded into trading insults with a guy easily young enough to be his son.”
