Mike Tyson is a different animal when he’s got a fight coming up.
Joe Rogan found that out the hard way when he invited ‘Iron Mike’ on his popular podcast while the former undisputed heavyweight champion was preparing for an exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.
The UFC commentator’s previous interactions with Mike Tyson were all happy and mellow, but he says something switched when the heavyweight icon booked a fight.
Ahead of Tyson’s upcoming clash with Jake Paul on November 15, Rogan has recalled the drastic action he took after feeling a bit too close to the feared knockout artist during their pre-fight chat.
Joe Rogan made key change after Mike Tyson podcast.
Earlier this year, during a conversation with comedian Sebastian Maniscalco, Rogan discussed Tyson’s ‘savage’ mode that switches on when he’s got a fight coming up.
The 57-year-old explained that he changed the shape of his podcast table to create more distance between him and his guests after a ‘terrifying’ chat with Tyson.
Rogan said: “He’s terrifying when he’s in the zone. I changed the shape of the table because of him.
“This table, we had a table that was this size at the old studio and at the new studio, I was like, ‘Maybe we’ll make the table smaller, it’ll be more intimate, I’ll be closer to the guests.’
“So, we had Mike Tyson in when he was 300lbs. And he was just eating and having fun and smoking weed. He goes, ‘I don’t even work out. If I work out, I’ll excite my ego, and I don’t like that person.’
“Then he got this offer to fight Roy Jones Jr. So, he gets in insane shape and the next time I see him, the second podcast we do, Mike now weighs 230lbs pounds and he’s got these muscles in his forearms.
“So, he’s sitting there and he’s a different human. He’s so intense, that I was like, ‘If this table was closer to him, I’d be nervous.’ Like, I wouldn’t be able to do my best job as a podcaster.
“That’s literally the reason why this table is this width is because of the second podcast with Mike Tyson.”
Joe Rogan wishes Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson wasn’t happening
Many people are concerned about Tyson coming out of retirement two decades after his last professional fight, especially against someone who is 31 years his junior.
Roy Jones Jr. fancies him to cause an upset, but Rogan hates that Tyson feels the need to return to the ring two years before he turns 60.
“I wish he didn’t do it; I wish it wasn’t a thing,” he told UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad on the JRE Podcast in September.
“I wish it wasn’t a thing where a 58-year-old guy was going to fight a 27-year-old. That said, I fully support his desire to do it… What is he going to live forever? No, he’s not going to live forever [and] maybe he wants one more shot at it, maybe his body can do one more fight.”
“He looks great on the mitts but it’s like I can look good on the mitts, especially if you’re watching 30-second clips, what you want to see is him sparring or hitting the bag for multiple rounds – I want to see how your feet move, if you’re off balance when you throw combinations.
“But he’s 58 – I love that guy, I’m a gigantic fan of his… The question is how much does he have left today? 58 today is not 58 when I was 21, it’s a different 58 and especially if they’re not testing him.”
“How much does he want to do it, is he doing it for money, how much does he have left in the tank – those are all questions that’ll make me buy the PPV.
“I’m going to feel bad if he gets knocked out… Conventional wisdom would say that this is a terrible fight, conventional wisdom would say there’s a 28-year-old with knockout power, real fast, young, f***** athletic and bold as s***.”