MIKE TYSON has officially walked away from a showdown with Jake Paul.
SunSport revealed last month that former world champ, 55, was in advanced negotiations with Paul, 25, about a big-money exhibition fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But Sun Online understands Tyson decided to turn his back on the deal because the numbers didn’t add up.
A source close to the former ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ said: “Mike did not want to resume full-scale training to a level that the world would expect, unless he thought the money was right.
“But what seemed like a good idea at the turn of the year is now no longer a top priority.”
Tyson and Paul’s reps had been secretly thrashing out plans for the pay per view bout, expected to happen later this year, with a potential windfall of £36million ($50million).
But a business associate of Tyson told Sun Online: “The last few weeks have seen a change for Mike. He was on board for an exhibition bout with Jake in Vegas, but word is that the deal is not quite what he expected.”
Tyson also isn’t keen on putting his body through the rigours of gruelling training sessions similar to those he did ahead of his victory against Roy Jones Jr. fight.
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The source said: “It is not about him not being able to physically dominate Jake, but rather his life is not conducive to training to the level that would be required.
“Mike has so much else going on too in his business life, especially with the expanding marijuana empire.
“And at this moment in time the maths don’t add up.”
Tyson has been building a cannabis empire since 2016 through his Tyson Holistic label.
It’s believed he earns around £500,000 per month through his business that offers premium marijuana strains, edibles and extracts.
‘Iron Mike’ is also building a 418-acre weed-themed holiday resort he hopes will be home to a music festival to rival Coachella, as well as the world’s longest lazy river.
And aside from a luxury hotel and the lure of ‘glamping’ tents, there will be a Tyson University on site that will aim to teach cannabis cultivation tips to wannabe farmers.
In recent weeks Tyson played down the story about him talking with Paul’s team.
The source added: ”There is one significant factor in all this for Mike. He does not need or want to take this fight simply to enhance the image of Jake’s fighting credentials.”
In November, Tyson hinted that he was prepping to fight in the Spring when he attended the unveiling of a metal statue of himself at Mulberry Street Pizzeria, Las Vegas.
Tyson added fuel to rumours that Jake or his brother Logan could be his next opponent, admitting: “I am going to have a return fight in February and we are pretty skeptical about the opponent but it will be a really stimulating opponent.”
Former undisputed heavyweight champ Tyson made a spectacular return to the ring in November 2020 for an exhibition bout with fellow boxing great Jones Jr.
Tyson rolled back the years as he fought the former four-weight world champion to a draw.
Tyson had hoped to return to the squared circle last September for a clash with old rival Lennox Lewis.
But 15 months after his triumphant return to the ring, The Baddest Man on the Planet is seemingly no longer keen on lacing up his gloves again.
He recently admitted: “I’m not even interested in doing this stuff. It was just fun at first.
“If it was back when I first started, yes, and we were both fighting on the same card and both active, yeah, we could do it.
“But, it just turned … it just turned bad. It didn’t turn outright.
“I wanted to do it the first time just for fun to have fun and then some people took it to another level and made it financial, and then the fun went out of it.”
YouTuber turned boxer Paul, meanwhile, hasn’t set foot inside the ring since his viral KO of former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley last December.
But The Problem Child – who is currently promoting Amanda Serrano’s eagerly-anticipated clash with Katie Taylor – is seemingly eyeing a September return.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour: “There’s a lot going on in other aspects of my life.
“I’m going to do these press conferences over the next two weeks here to help with the promotion around Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano and I’m very busy on the business side of things with my venture capital fund.
“So I haven’t even got back into the gym or been training at all.
“I need to have a discussion with my coaches but probably I would say August-September maybe. Maybe later. I’m trying to figure it out.
“Obviously if the stars align in some sort of way or I have a change of heart, then things can obviously move around but right now I don’t feel like that motivated to just go right back into another training camp.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
