Mike Tyson accepted Jake Paul fight for much smaller purse than he wanted

Former undisputed heavyweight world champion originally demanded $1billion to take on YouTuber-turned-boxer in the ring.

'Iron Mike' hasn't fought a professional contest since suffering a defeat to Kevin McBride nearly two decades ago. He did, however, take part in an exhibition fight against fellow legend Roy Jones Jr back in 2020. Tyson's return against Paul is set to take place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas in front of 80,000 people.

The pair were scheduled to fight back in July but Tyson was . Fans have been left fearing for the 58-year-old's health ahead of the heavyweight dust-up. Those concerns were further heightened after 'Iron Mike' recently admitted he was struggling to walk after training.

Many within the boxing community have slammed the decision to go ahead with the contest largely due to the 31-year age gap between the two fighters. Despite the concerns, Tyson has claimed he's fit and will be ready to make the walk to the ring later this week.

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While Tyson is set to pocket yet another mammoth payday, the 58-year-old will be taking home a lot less than he had originally asked for. Speaking on an episode of his Hotboxin podcast two years ago, the boxing veteran demanded $1billion to fight the social media star.

When asked by Jermell Charlo and Paul Pierce about a potential fight with 'The Problem Child', Tyson said: “Hey, I ain’t got no f****** money. So where’s the f****** contract?” He continued to deny knowing about any talks with the YouTube personality but revealed that he’d accept the fight provided Paul can meet his price tag.

“I ain’t know nothing about it. Listen, I’ve been smoking with him forever, I did some shrooms with him as well. But I’ve never heard this. I was with him in St. Barts not too long ago partying and he never told me this. I’ve never heard this from nobody, I’ve just heard this from you guys. We got to get some more man s***, blue-eyed, blonde hair, that s**t is very expensive, we need to get some more money, man.” When asked for what amount he’d fight Paul, Tyson replied: “a billion bucks.”

Despite his wish for the whopping sum, the 58-year-old is recently stated that his return to the ring is not for financial reasons. Tyson's and 'Iron Mike' is more to him by taking on Paul in his return to the ring. "I could be waiting on a check every day from cannabis," he said in September while commentating at a Cage Wars MMA event.

"That’s bulls*** for me. I’m a man; I want to go out there and I want to expose myself to risk. Sometimes I want to see who I really am. I want to see what I’m really made out of. I want to perform in front of the . To me, that’s all I ever knew how to do since I was 14. This fight is not going to change my life financially enough. This is just what I want to do."