While his performance against Jake Paul over the weekend was a far cry from his prime, Mike Tyson’s physical transformation during the fight was still impressive at 58. Leading up to the fight, Tyson had shed the happy grandpa aura to look lean and mean, much to UFC commentator Joe Rogan’s surprise
On an episode of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’, the UFC commentator spoke about the stark difference between old-man, weed-smoking Tyson and the guy who slapped Paul-
“When I first met him he was very heavy, he was not working out at all….And then the second time…he was a totally different human being, he was f*cking jacked and in shape and he looked super intense.”
Even Rogan’s producer Jamie was terrified of Tyson when he came to the podcast for the second time ahead of his fight. Tyson was so focussed and locked in that it reminded both of them of how it was back in the ’80s and the ’90s when he would be living rent-free in his opponents’ heads even before he had laid a hand on them.
Obviously, Tyson was not the same. But he did a fairly good job of dialing up the nostalgia, so much so that when Rogan saw this side of him come out during fight week, he was actually quite optimistic about the fight.
Rogan was fearing for Paul’s life
During the presser for the June event when Tyson fell sick, the boxer seemed kind and respectful towards Paul. He even gave the man his flowers claiming Jake was a tough opponent. However, as the days went by and mid-October came along, he stopped responding to Jake with any kindness at all. He was cold and ruthless in every response.
Rogan believed the act so much that he was actually scared for Paul going into the fight.
“Mike Tyson’s mind has switched over into war…He’s in savage mode. If I was Jake Paul right now, I would be sh*tting my pants.”
Rogan wanted to see Tyson KO Paul, not because he had anything against the 28-year-old, but because it would have been the fairytale ending. In the end, he had to make do with the 58-year-old showing bursts of energy throughout the fight that he could not sustain.
