Jake Paul had a message for Mike Tyson.
He delivered it after he knocked down Mike Perry three times and beat the bareknuckle brawler by TKO in the sixth round.
In front of thousands of fans inside Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, during an in-ring interview.
“Mike, I love you, but this is my sport now,’’ Paul said. “You’re a legend. You’re one of the two most famous boxers to ever live. You and Muhammad Ali. It’s an honor to get in the ring with you. I’m so, so honored, you’re a legend.
“But I’m going to take your throne, brother.”
On his X account, Tyson posted a countdown for his fight with Paul. That’s 118 days and counting.
Tyson likely took a sigh of relief Saturday night after Perry got knocked down but kept getting up before the referee finally stopped the fight.
Paul said Tyson called him before his fight against Perry.
“(Tyson) was concerned about me taking this fight,’’ Paul told reporters earlier this week. “He’s like, ‘What is Jake thinking? This guy Mike Perry is a killer.’ So he had some concerns.’’
In fact, Paul claimed a loss to Perry would have ended his highly anticipated fight with Tyson. Paul agreed to fight Perry after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up May 26, which lead to the Tyson-Paul fight being postponed.
They’re now scheduled to fight on Nov. 15 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and it will be broadcast by Netflix.
“And I’m going to get another KO and prove everyone wrong once again,’’ Paul said. “Everyone said that this is a mistake taking this fight. That I was an idiot, I was risking it. But that’s why I’m here. I take big risks. I put it on the line. And it’s anyone, anytime anyplace.’’
