Last month, pictures of Jake Paul with a face tattoo resembling the one Mike Tyson made headlines. Many fans and followers pointed out that it was a fake photo op to promote the upcoming fight. But for an altogether unconventional reason, ‘The Problem Child’, as it turns out, appears quite serious about getting one.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer has a big fight lined up for July 20, where he will face the youngest heavyweight champion in history, now long-retired 57-year-old Mike Tyson, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Ever since its announcement, the fight has been attracting considerable attention. Not a day passes by without the teams releasing training clips, snapshots, and footage from varied talk shows and podcasts to keep the followers engaged. In one such podcast, Paul was seen talking about why he was considering getting a face tattoo.
Rapper Lil Pump joined Jake Paul, his girlfriend, Jutta Leerdam, and Kill Jasper in the studio of ‘BS w/Jake Paul’. Over the course of the conversation, Jake Paul revealed that he planned on getting a face tattoo in the week leading to the Mike Tyson fight. Leerdam, the Dutch world speed skating champion, sounded a bit apprehensive over the idea. “Well, I don’t think that’s a great idea,” she said. Lil Pump had other doubts. He asked whether ‘The Problem Child’ hadn’t planned on getting the ones ‘Iron’ Mike donned.
Jake Paul replied, “I’m not gonna get the Tyson one, but Tyson, like, got his legendary tattoo; he just…” Lil Pump insisted; probably Paul needs it since he’s like one of the ‘faces of boxing’. The Ohioan YouTuber-turned-boxer then shared, “So I’m just like, F*ck it, like, why not just do it because Tyson did it? It’s a story behind Tyson’s face tat is, it was like Wednesday of his fight week, and he just got it, and he showed up to the presser the next day with the face tat and he didn;t tell anybody. So I’m thinking about doing that in honor…”
Nevertheless, his girlfriend, Jutta Leerdam, didn’t appear so convinced and persisted that he shouldn’t proceed with it. While Paul did explain how Tyson got his tattoo out of the blue, it happened before a major boxing match in Tyson’s career. While Tyson wanted a different design in the first place, it was the tattoo artist who persuaded him to change it. Let us see how this played out.
Tyson wanted to get a ‘hearts’ tattoo
On February 22, 2003, Mike Tyson, after the loss to Lennox Lewis the year prior, fought Clifford Etienne at the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee. Tyson won the bout via first-round knockout. It would be the last time he would win a boxing match in his illustrious professional career. But the fight gained fame for a different reason.
It was in the lead-up to the bout that ‘Iron’ Mike decided to get his now signature Māori warrior tattoo. Reportedly done by celebrated tattoo artist S. Victor Whitmill from Las Vegas, the story goes that Tyson originally wanted hearts on his face. However, Whitmill refused to go with the concept. Given that he has himself led the life of a warrior, the former heavyweight champion liked it when Whitmill introduced the Māori ‘tā moko’, a permanent ink decking the faces of Māori tribesmen from New Zealand.
At the time, the face work created quite a buzz for varied reasons. However, no one can deny that, over the years, it has become a part of the Mike Tyson identity. Jake Paul might have bona fide reasons to honor the boxing great. But whether it will find acceptance among fans and followers, time alone will tell.
Mike Tyson’s Recent Training Photos Makes Fans Believe He Will Remind Jake Paul to “Never Come Out of His Lane Ever Again”
What’s your take? Do you think Paul’s idea of honoring Tyson will be well-received by fans? Please share your views with us in the comments below.
