Mike Tyson Reveals Why He Agreed To Fight Jake Paul, And, No, It's Not Money

I think everyone was a little surprised when Mike Tyson agreed to fight boxer and YouTube star Jake Paul, many probably assuming that the reason he did was the same reason anyone would agree to box someone thirty years younger: cold, hard cash.

While an illness forced the bout to be moved to November from its originally planned date of July 20 (Jake Paul will now be fighting ex-UFC fighter Platinum Mike Perry that night), Tyson seems committed to going through with it and talked to Esquire's Timothy Bell about why he would've agreed to the fight in the first place.

Nope. Money isn't the answer.

"Can I be honest?" Tyson said in the interview. "I don’t think he can hurt me."

I mean, he maybe could a little, but they don't call him "Iron Mike" for nothing.

Although it's not just that Tyson feels pretty safe getting in the ring, he also talked about how he's looking for a taste of glory like he had in his heyday of being one of the most feared men to ever step in the ring.

Mike Tyson explained why he agreed to fight Jake Paul, a guy 31 years younger than he is. (Photo by Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

"I’m a glory junkie. I love people thinking about me all day," he told Esquire. "I’d rather live a short life of glory than a long life of obscurity. It’s just who I am.

"This is all I started fighting for — to get all this f--king status. I’m going to be chasing it for the rest of my life. I know that. I’m never going to get what I want, because I’m one of those gluttons for pain. I can never get enough."

That makes sense. Imagine achieving the kind of highs (and lows) that someone like Tyson has throughout his career. Those feelings of glory have to be pretty intoxicating so you can understand why he continues to chase them.

We'll see if Tyson can recapture that glory when he goes toe-to-toe with Jake Paul on November 15.