Mike Tyson has added a personal detail to the shorts he will be wearing in his fight against Jake Paul.
On Friday (November 15), the retired professional boxer, 58, and the YouTuber, 27, will fight in a boxing match at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, live on Netflix. For the match, Tyson is expected to wear black shorts with the name of his late daughter, Exodus Sierra Tyson, embroidered on one of the legs above an image of the American flag.
The shorts had been specifically designed for Tyson by BYLT Premium Basics, a brand the former heavyweight champion has partnered with for the match. Robert Pursell, a spokesperson for the company, told USA Today they’re expecting Tyson will wear the shorts for his fight against Paul.
In 2009, Exodus died when she was just four years old after a cord from a treadmill accidentally wrapped around her neck. The event was described as a “tragic accident.”
“Somehow, she was playing on this treadmill, and there’s a cord that hangs under the console; it’s kind of a loop,” Sargent Andy Hill told ABC News affiliate KNXV-TV at the time. “Either she slipped or put her head in the loop, but it acted like a noose, and she was obviously unable to get herself off of it.”
Tyson is also a father to six other children with four different mothers: Michael “Miki” Lorna, 34, Ramsey, 28, Amir, 27, Miguel, 22, Milan, 15, and Morocco, 13.
The match-up between Paul and Tyson was originally supposed to take place in July, but it was delayed after the heavyweight champion had an ulcer flare-up on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. The fight is scheduled for eight two-minute rounds, and knockouts are allowed. Contrary to rumors, the boxers will not wear headguards, although their gloves will weigh 14oz – larger than the standard 10oz versions.
This will be Tyson’s first professional match in 19 years since he retired from boxing in 2005.
Most recently, Tyson had slapped the YouTuber one night before their match as they were getting weighed in. As fans were cheering on Tyson and hurling boos and insults at Paul, the two later ended up face-to-face when Tyson slapped his opponent.
While security separated the two of them, Tyson refused to answer why he had hit Paul. “Talking’s over,” he told host Ariel Helwani.
Paul then said: “I didn’t even feel it. He’s angry. He’s an angry little elf. Mike Tyson, I thought that was a cute slap, buddy, but tomorrow you’re getting knocked the f*** out. I’m f***ing him up.”
He also screamed: “He hits like a b***, it’s personal now, he must die!”
As the fight draws closer, people have begun to predict who they think will come out on top. Fellow YouTuber-turned-boxer KSI admitted that he does not think the fight “will be close at all.”
“Jake Paul will knock out Mike Tyson. This will not be close at all,” KSI posted on X/Twitter. “Boxing is a young man’s game and Mike is 58 years old. They’re sending a lamb to the slaughter and it’s disgusting.”
The fight will be available to stream on Netflix at 8pm ET on Friday, November 15.
