"My ego is not involved" - When Mike Tyson explained why he wasn't offended by Jake Paul's challenge during his appearance on JRE
Mike Tyson said that Jake Paul's callouts did not make him feel insulted or hurt his ego. The boxing legend is set to take on Paul in a boxing match on Nov. 15. However, the matchmaking has been heavily criticized due to the massive age gap between the two.
During his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Tyson spoke about his feelings after 'The Problem Child' called him out for a fight. When host Joe Rogan asked the 58-year-old whether he felt insulted after Paul started showing interest in fighting him, Tyson said it did not bother him. Surprisingly, the retired boxer said he thought it was "cool".
Tyson explained his thought process with a story, saying:
"Let me tell what I found out... There is this mayor in this town in the Midwest who talked to me... He was one of those stern guys. He always got everything right and perfect but he didn't have a good personality and he almost lost to a guy that didn't do anything, he didn't make anything, he sh** on people's tactics and methods. But he hung out with the people, he smoked cigarettes with him, he drank with him, he ate with them. He's going to hang out on that porch with him. And that' when you learn... You can't take yourself too serious."
He added:
"The world will turn if you take yourself too serious. Who the hell am I to take myself too serious? Made all this money, got this reputation and now I'm looking at people, screwfacing them down... I have a great life, I'm not going to be mad at somebody really... When my ego is not involved, how could I really be mad at somebody?"
Check out Mike Tyson's comments below (1:34):
Joe Rogan and Mike Tyson elaborate on their thoughts on the topic
Joe Rogan, who appeared to be intrigued by Mike Tyson's response to his question about Jake Paul's callouts hurting his ego, shared his thoughts on Tyson's explanation, saying:
"That's beautiful. That's a beautiful attitude and you're so right. Because, so many people are concentrating so much on succeeding, and doing great things... And you forget what life is about. Life is about enjoying moments." [3:10]
Tyson responded:
"Life is balance... your legacy is not about what you achieve. It's about what your children say about you. At the end of the day, they know who you are, they know what you're hiding, they know what you do not want anyone else to see..." [3:31]
Tyson vs. Paul will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 15. This will be Tyson's first professional boxing appearance since he suffered a sixth-round KO defeat against Kevin McBride in June 2005. He was last seen in an exhibition boxing match against Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020. The fight, scored by WBC, resulted in a split draw.