Mike Tyson punches Jake Paul (PTI Photo)

Mike Tyson punched Jake Paul during their weigh-in on Thursday night, with Tom Patti, a long-time friend of Tyson’s, explaining that the incident occurred because Paul had stepped on Tyson’s foot.
Footage from the weigh-in appears to show Paul briefly stepping on the front of Tyson’s right foot before quickly backing away. In response, Tyson hit Paul in the face with his right hand and gestured to the ground. Both were soon separated.
“Jake stepped on Mike’s foot, that caused the reaction,” Patti told USA Today.
“I was there and Mike just told me,” he added.
Patti and Tyson share a long history, having trained together under Cus D’Amato in Catskill, New York. From 1982 to 1987 they lived in D’Amato’s house. Patti later entered politics and was elected to the San Joaquin County (California) Board of Supervisors in 2016, a move Tyson said she encouraged.

Paul later crawled towards Tyson before standing up. Video footage shows that Paul stepped on Tyson’s right foot with his left foot during this interaction.
“My personal opinion (is) that Jake shows enough disrespect that he starts crawling towards Mike and then jumps in front of him… like some kind of swinging animal. Mike put him in his place,” Patti noted.
Despite their clash, Tyson and Paul have appeared regularly together since their fight was announced in March, often appearing to be amicable. In May, both dismissed speculation that their fight was staged.
However, in the build-up to the fight, Tyson has appeared increasingly withdrawn, while Paul has adopted a more confrontational tone. According to Patti, Tyson’s actions at the weigh-in indicate that he is “done with all the publicity. It’s time to fight.”