Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy continues to slam last Friday’s Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, having branded the bout “con-job marketing.”
Tyson and Paul squared up in a mega Netflix event that the streaming giants have since revealed was the most streamed event in sporting history. However, it hardly lived up to the hype.
“It was the greatest … I called it con-job marketing, but I would do it if I were either of them,” Portnoy said on the ‘BFFs’ podcast. “Jake got $40 million, Tyson got $20 million. Neither of them [were] in danger, but it was exactly what I thought [it was going to be].”
Lots of high-profile names have accused the fighters of fixing the bout, and Paul didn’t do himself any favors when he admitted that he took his foot off the gas.
“I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” he said after the bout.
‼️ Jake Paul confirms that he decided not to KO Mike Tyson during their fight: “I didn’t wanna hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.”
[🎥 @MostVPromotions] pic.twitter.com/Ab4jDbCht7
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 16, 2024
Dave Portnoy Recalls Hanging With High Mike Tyson
Portnoy suggested that there was no way Tyson was going to win because he’s not the same fighter he was when he was the best in the world.
“He’s a bad guy, he was the baddest, scariest motherf**ker, and that’s what people remember,” he said. “But I don’t think they actually watched him as closely [on Friday]. You just had to be out to lunch if you thought [Tyson was going to win].”
He would also recall doing a podcast with Iron Mike during which the boxer could hardly talk because he was high.
“I did his podcast, and he was so high… they had another guy, ’cause he could barely talk,” he remarked.
Host Josh Richards said he heard Tyson would take mushrooms before going on the podcast.
Bri Chickenfry, the other host, asked how Purtnoy’s conversation with Tyson went.
“Nothing, it was almost like there was a third guy kinda running the thing. It was an athlete [Tennessee Titans defensive end Sebastian Joseph-Day], but Tyson was out to launch. He just wasn’t there. He walked with like a limp, he has a cane.”
