In a WWE ring, Mike Tyson would kill to face Logan Paul. The WWE Hall of Famer has only officially participated in one professional wrestling match, although his career in the sport spans decades, and he was a key figure in the WWE from the beginning of 1998 until WrestleMania XIV. The celebrity boxer/YouTuber, who recently signed a new deal with the organization, has since quickly established himself as one of the best celebrities to ever turn pro wrestlers. In an interview with Forbes, Tyson was asked about a potential match between the two.
“Have you ever seen me wrestle before?” Tyson jokingly said. “I would do it! I would kick his f*ing ass, yes I would do it. Even though I love him though (laughs).”
Meanwhile, Paul has boldly claimed on his Impaulsive podcast that he could beat Tyson in a boxing ring if the two were booked. While Tyson hasn’t competed in an official fight since 2005, he did compete in an exhibition with Roy Jones Jr. back in 2020.
“Someone mentioned Mike Tyson, like how funny is it? One great at a time,” Paul said back in 2021. “My lawyer mentioned it, and he’s like, ‘No, Tyson will rip your head off. You don’t stand a chance.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, I just went through all of this. You can’t tell me I can’t beat Mike Tyson.’ Bro, he’s old, old.”
Elsewhere in the Forbes interview, Tyson talked about the upcoming merger between the WWE and UFC. He believes that boxing should follow suit.
“I think if they all formed together, they could highlight together,” Tyson said. “They could all be seen together. Fighters would all be fighting in a square ring at one time, still with the ropes and everything. We have to make combat sports have such an affinity with the combat world that it’s going to be the biggest athletic sport from the beginning of the journey to the end. We have to change sports and turn it into a total entertainment field. Total entertainment. Masks, costumes, all that stuff. Everything. Take it to its highest potential to the imagination of everybody. Almost become God status.”
“Boxing alone— fighting alone — won’t last. Entertainment will last forever. That’s why the fighter has to be exciting. Entertainment can last forever,” he continued. “In boxing, a guy can have a really stinkin’ fight, and they’ll use him again. In MMA and wrestling, if you don’t draw people and you’re stinkin’ the place out, you’ll never see that guy again. In boxing, if anybody stinks the place out, he should fight in Alaska somewhere.”