Jake Paul believes a knockout win of Mike Tyson is fated to happen.

That’s how confident Paul is ahead of his clash with the boxing legend, which takes place this Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and airs live on Netflix. Paul has made a name for himself as a boxer after previously rising to fame as a YouTuber and social media influencer, and meets his most accomplished opponent yet in the 58-year-old Tyson.

“Iron Mike” fights in his first sanctioned bout since 2015 (and makes his first in-ring appearance since a 2020 exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr.). In his prime, Tyson was revered for his knockout power that earned him multiple world titles and made him one of sport’s most famous figures.

Ahead of the Nov. 15 event, Paul and Tyson sat down for a face-to-face interview on YouTube, and Paul waxed poetic on how it would feel to KO Tyson.

“When it happens, it’s going to be a little bittersweet because I have love for him, but at the current moment, we’re meant to go to war,” Paul said. “He’s trying to take the food off my plate, I’m trying to take the food off of his plate and that’s what warriors do. But for me, I’ve dream this, manifested it, and it will be the start of what has been a 12-year career for me in entertainment and acting and working and all the things I’ve done now into boxing, this is finally my moment and my time to shine and I’m going to show the world who the f*ck I am.

“Because everyone’s doubted me, everyone’s had something something to say. Nothing was ever given to me. I’ve had to work for it all. Suppressed by everyone. Kicked off of YouTube. Kicked off of platforms. Canceled five times and here I am throwing the biggest event in really all of entertainment actually and now it shows to the rest of the world what hard work and perseverance can do and I’m just happy to be able to show that to other kids who maybe have to go through adversity and have to fight and have to keep on proving themselves time and time again.”

Asked if he was confident that he would put Tyson down for the count, Paul didn’t waver: “It’s already written.”

“This is the baddest man on the planet,” Paul added. “Heavyweight. Just look at the f*cking guy sitting here right now. He’s an animal. He posts Instagram pictures and I get a little scared because of how good he looks, but I have to step up to this level and show people that I can accomplish the impossible and that’s what the story of Jake Paul is about.”

Tyson was then asked how a loss to Paul would affect his legacy, which led to the following exchange:

Tyson: “I don’t look at my life as a legacy. Legacy to me means ego. Who the f*ck cares about my legacy? I’m going to be dead soon one day. But he’s not going to win.”

Paul: “It would be the biggest moment in all of boxing history on Friday night when I put this man to sleep, so that is pretty dope.”

Tyson: “He dreams a lot. This is not going to come true, young man.”

Paul: “I respect your opinion, but it’s just my time. The universe knows it, the gods know it, and you’re going to know it.”

Despite his bravado, Paul admitted he’s concerned about how the fight could unfold Friday. Of Tyson’s 50 pro wins, 44 came by way of knockout, with many still being replayed to this day due to the level of violence and viciousness involved.

Paul doesn’t want to get hit, but he’s ready for it.

“I have to be alert,” Paul said. “This is a scary, scary man. He’s a killer and has all the power still clearly in all the videos, all the sparring that he’s showing dropping his sparring partners.

“My mom is messaging, she can’t even watch Tyson punch. She won’t watch it because it scares her. He has one of the deadliest uppercuts of all time, so of course I have to be ready and know that he’s going to have some moments in there and I’m going to have to persevere.”

In what will likely be Tyson’s last fight, the boxing legend is seeing it as more than just a farewell party. He plans to go out on top, something he didn’t get to do when he lost to Kevin McBride in June 2005.

In Tyson’s mind, he’s certain that millions of fans will get the chance to see his hand raised one more time.

“I’m not going to lose, so I can’t even fathom losing,” Tyson said. “I can’t even imagine it. He’s not going to win. I think he thinks this is going to be a very easy night. It’s not going to be an easy night for you.”

“I don’t think that,” Paul replied. “I think it’s going to be a war. A war of ages. The fans are the ones who win out of this, but I know you, I know your soul on a deeper level, and I know myself and I know you’re not going to f*cking quit and neither am I. You could rip my head off. I can go down to the canvas. You can f*ck me up, I could be bleeding from everywhere, and I’m not going to stop, and I know that’s the same for you. That’s the beauty of this, I don’t think it’s going to be easy. I know it’s going to be hard.”

Watch the full Face 2 Face video below.