With rumors swirling that Jake Paul's alleged new opponent for July 20th means the November fight with Mike Tyson is off, Hulk Hogan decided to share his thoughts on the matter. The wrestling legend is advocating for the boxer after a medical emergency during a flight prevented him from honoring his original fight date this summer. While Tyson recovers, Hogan is reminding people he's called "Iron" Mike Tyson for a reason.
The Hulkster took some time out of his day to speak to TMZ about the fight, which, as mentioned, was moved on the 2024 TV schedule to stream live in November for those with a Netflix subscription. The hosts asked about the vast 30-year age difference between the fighters and if that will impact the outcome of the fight, and Hogan made it pretty clear how he feels about that:
If it was anybody else, I would say yes, but Tyson has that eye of the tiger, brother. When he gets focused, he will seek and destroy. I see that bad dog look in his eye now. It's like when you don't trust a bad dog, it might bite you at any time. That's the look he's got. I remember that look from 25 years ago. It's kind of scary.
Beyond being friends with Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, Hulk Hogan has another bizarre connection to this potential super fight. Hogan has alleged for years that Vince McMahon wanted to have him face off against Tyson in 1990 in the WWE, but as Atletifo noted, plans were derailed when Tyson lost to Buster Douglas in the Tokyo Dome. McMahon extended the offer to Douglas, who then served as a guest referee in a match between Hogan and Randy Savage on Saturday Night's Main Event.
While Jake Paul has gone to great lengths to dismiss rumors of fake rules and rigging the fight for entertainment, Hulk Hogan confirmed he did ask the brother of United States Champion Logan Paul if that was what was happening here. Unsurprisingly, he got the same answer from The Problem Child he's given publicly to those who have asked the same:
I pulled Jake aside, I said, 'What's up with this thing? Is it a work like wrestling? Are you guys going to really go at it?' He said, 'I'm gonna knock his ass out.'
I believe Jake Paul when he says that, beyond the fact that he's had no problem knocking out older fighting champions prior to this. The fighter helped his brother Logan when he took on Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel in 2022, and he threw the weakest fake punch I've ever seen in a pro wrestling bout. I'm not sure Jake Paul could fake a fight if he tried, giving him no choice but to go all-out on Mike Tyson.
It should also be noted that while Paul was trolling Tyson at first, he's actually put on quite a bit of weight for the fight. For all the criticism he gets for his choice of opponents and antics, it does legitimately seem like he was preparing for a real fight with the legend and hoping he didn't get defeated by someone decades older than him. Hopefully, we will eventually get to see these two square off, and maybe Hulk Hogan can be ringside to deliver a leg drop to whoever loses.
Tyson vs. Paul is rescheduled to stream live on Netflix on November 15th. CinemaBlend will keep our eyes out for updates on the bout and other rumors that surface about Jake Paul allegedly fighting someone else in the months leading to the event in the meantime.
