Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul came to life on Thursday night when the YouTuber was punched in the face by the boxing legend.

A 58-year-old Tyson returns to the ring on Friday night to take on 27-year-old Paul in a professionally sanctioned fight on Netflix.

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The pair came face to face in Texas but had to be separated by security when Tyson punched Paul on the chin.

“The talking is over,” Tyson said before leaving the stage.

Paul replied, “I didn’t even feel it. He’s angry. He is an angry elf.

“Mike Tyson, I thought that was a cute punch, buddy, but tomorrow you’re going to get the fuck knocked out.

“I’m fucking him, Ariel (Helwani). I’m fucking him. He’s hitting like a b****. It’s personal now. It’s personal now. He has to die.”

Ex-heavyweight champion Tyson has since insisted the punch was in retaliation for Paul stepping on his toe.

The YouTuber turned boxer crawled towards Tyson before jumping to his feet – and footage shows he appeared to get too close.

“I had my socks on and he had shoes on,” Tyson told The Post shortly after the weigh-in.

‘He stepped on my toe because he was fucking in a hole. I wanted to think it happened by accident.

“But now I think it might have been done on purpose. I was in a lot of pain. I had to answer something.”

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Even if Tyson’s punch was provoked by Paul’s act, retired British boxer Spencer Oliver believes it shows the 58-year-old is tense and ready to go.

“I thought Mike Tyson was threatening there,” Oliver told talkSPORT in Dallas.

“We saw a bit of the Mike Tyson of old.

“He’s in incredible condition. You saw the form he was in, it was brilliant.

“The blow? It’s in him. That’s that dog in him. Reality has set in now. Once you get off that scale, it’s real.

“For Tyson, there’s a switch. Once that switch goes, that’s what you get.”

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It won’t be long before Tyson can do much more than land a right-handed punch to the side of Paul’s face.

The fight is expected to start at 10pm local time, which is 4am on Saturday in Britain.

80,000 fans are expected to pack into AT&T Stadium in Dallas, with millions more watching Tyson fight on Netflix in his first professional fight since 2005.

Since the fight is tough, there would be no fights against the scales for either fighter.

Wearing a pair of Versace-branded swim trunks and white ankle socks, a 58-year-old Tyson looked shredded while weighing 227.2 pounds (103 kg).

As for Paul, he flexed his arms and let out a primal roar, tipping the scales at 103.6kg.