UFC commentator and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping is lambasting "pathetic" Jake Paul ahead of the content creator-turned-boxing star's duel with Mike Tyson, in a well-publicized event Netflix airs November live from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Paul and Tyson were scheduled to trade leather on July 20 in the same venue but the former heavyweight boxing champion withdrew from the event citing a health issue. That is no longer a concern, and so Tyson is now locked into the November 15 tussle.
One problem, though, is that, according to Bisping, Paul is now finally admitting that Tyson is too old too fight competitively, and that it could just be a push-over.
Jake Paul is 'Pathetic'
Michael Bisping puts creator on blast
At a pre-fight press conference Sunday, Paul turned on the New York City crowd, and told them they were just like Mike Tyson — good 20 years ago, and implied they were anything but good now.
This drew ire from Bisping, who posted a live reaction to the event, saying on his official YouTube channel: "Jake, I hate to point out the obvious, that makes you look pathetic."
"You just admitted that you’re going up against an old man, who is a legend of course, but he’s not that guy anymore."
There is an old wrestling adage, perpetuated by managerial greats like Paul Heyman, that rather than trash your opponent, you build them up, so that when you beat them, it makes you that much greater. For Paul to belittle Tyson, it hints that the show is a sham, according to Bisping, with Paul widely-expected to handle an opponent more than 30 years older than him.
"Jake Paul, he’s … a tool bag. I’m not going to lower myself and swear. Look at him. It’s nice to see that he’s finally getting booed and the kind of response that he deserves."
Bisping Continued to Tear Into Paul
'You're an imposter!'
"You are a joke," Bisping continued.
"You are a disgrace to the combat world. You’re an imposter. You’re a wannabe. You’re a fake. Challenge yourself, you pathetic man, you pathetic individual. Fighting is about challenging yourself. Granted, business. Killing it in that regard. But don’t give me this fighter bullshit. That’s what gets on my nerves."
He added: "The man’s almost 60. He’s almost a pensioner.
"Mike Tyson was a terrifying individual. To go up against that man, in his prime, Jesus Christ, he was one of the scariest individuals that we’ve ever seen throughout any combat sport. The man was a straight killer. Was. Again, the key word."
Bisping then said that, in his prime, he'd never fought an opponent who was three decades older than he was. And would reject an offer even now, if the opportunity was there, as it goes against the spirit of the competition, he said.
"Stick it up your ass. Give me someone who is my age. Because that is not competition and that is what a true fighter would say and should say."
