Ariel Helwani Insists Mike Tyson Slapping Jake Paul Ahead of Netflix Fight 'Was Not Fake'

"That was not scripted, that was not fake, that was not any of that.”

Tyson slaps Paul ahead of their boxing match on Friday night. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

In what may eventually be dubbed as the slap heard 'round the world, Mike Tyson whacked Jake Paul across the face ahead of their highly anticipated boxing match.

The 58-year-old former heavyweight champion is coming out of retirement to square off against the former YouTube star on Friday night. Given the circumstances, many wondered if this whole thing—including Thursday night's slap—is staged.

Longtime combat sports commentator Ariel Helwani, who is covering the fight for Netflix, joined the Dan Patrick Show on Friday afternoon and insisted that it's not:

"I was there yesterday at the weigh-ins," Helwani explained. "You know there's been a lot of talk about who this version of Mike Tyson is, what we're gonna see tonight, what this is all about. You've been around for a long time, you've seen the many different versions of Mike. That was 1990's version of Mike. He may be 58 but that demon, that beast never goes away and when Jake went up to him like that and, as we found out later, stepped on his toe, that guy comes back. He cannot control it.

"That was not scripted. That was not fake. That was not any of that."

He continued: "And I'll tell you this, the look on his face as I was trying to interview him afterwards. I was standing as far away as possible like I was holding a piece of meat trying to feed a lion. I have never seen that look on a human being's face... That was terrifying stuff."

Friday night's fight was originally scheduled to take place this past summer, but was rescheduled after Tyson fell ill following an "ulcer problem" that he was hospitalized for. Tyson and Paul will square off sporting 14-ounce gloves (as opposed to standard 10-ounce gloves), and the fight will consist of eight rounds that will last two minutes each. Typically, a standard boxing match is 10 to 12 rounds lasting three minutes each.

"This is 100% a real fight," Helwani later added in his interview with Patrick. "It's probably going to be the most watched combat sports event of all time by the time it's said and done. Mike Tyson doesn't do fake. He doesn't play fight."

Friday night's bout will start at 8 p.m. ET and streams exclusively on Netflix.

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