Boxing cult hero Butterbean has decried Mike Tyson and Jake Paul‘s landmark fight as a ‘scam’ which he believes will never take place.

The sporting veteran and the former YouTuber sensationally claimed that a clash was in the works in March in a move which attracted a swirl of controversy.

Age gap of 30 years between the two fighters not withstanding, 58-year-old Tyson has not fought competitively since 2005, returning to the ring for an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr in 2020.

The contest was due to be staged by Netflix in July, but just two months after the fight was announced, the two men were forced to postpone proceedings after ‘Iron Mike’ suffered a medical scare in May.

But despite the pair rescheduling the match for November 15, Butterbean – real name Eric Esch – cast doubt on whether fans would ever see Tyson and Paul step into the ring together.

Mike Tyson's (left) much-hyped meeting with Jake Paul (right) has been decried as a 'scam'

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Mike Tyson’s (left) much-hyped meeting with Jake Paul (right) has been decried as a ‘scam’

Boxing cult hero Butterbean (pictured left) has rubbished the idea that the fight will go ahead
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Boxing cult hero Butterbean (pictured left) has rubbished the idea that the fight will go ahead

Paul last fought on the vacated date of July 20 - which Butterbean has hinted is a clue to the fight's true status
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Paul last fought on the vacated date of July 20 – which Butterbean has hinted is a clue to the fight’s true status

‘Him and Tyson are never gonna fight,’ the 58-year-old said of Paul in a Q&A as per GB News.  ‘That has been a scam from the very beginning just to boost Jake’s name – and it has!

‘This guy, everybody’s talking about him. But he’s never gonna fight Tyson.’

The former superheavyweight added that the ‘scam’ was organised with the full knowledge that the fight would never take place.

‘They were never planning on fighting each other, because a promoter would never let him fight anyone else in between a fight,’ he added, referring to Paul’s match-up with Mike Perry, which filled the date vacated by Tyson.

‘Never – not that big of a fight. So, it’s been a scam from the beginning.’

The former fighter has form coming up against Paul, with Butterbean previously calling out Paul five fights into his career in 2022.

The older man’s flirtation with a return to the ring came on the heels of a body transformation almost a decade on from his last outing in the ring in 2013.

In the wake of Paul’s victory against former UFC fighter Perry at the end of last month, Tyson demonstrated that he remains very much committed to overcoming his younger opponent, sending Paul an ominous message on social media in the immediate aftermath.

‘118 days -16 weeks and 6 days- 17 weekends – 2,832 hours – 169,920 minutes – 10,195,200 seconds,’ he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

'Iron Mike' suffered a medical scare in the run-up to the controversial fight which forced delay
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‘Iron Mike’ suffered a medical scare in the run-up to the controversial fight which forced delay

In his 11th professional fight, Paul won by TKO against former UFC star Mike Perry in July
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In his 11th professional fight, Paul won by TKO against former UFC star Mike Perry in July

His future opponent watched the fight and shared an ominous message on social media
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His future opponent watched the fight and shared an ominous message on social media

‘[The] clock starts now. #TysonPaul #TheClockIsTicking #JakesWake.’

Tyson also posted a video of himself silently watching Paul on TV, before the latter went on to defeat Perry.

Ahead of their November clash, Tyson and Perry are due to host a press conference next week.

Super Bowl Hall of Famer Peyton Manning is set to attend the meeting with the media as a ‘special guest’, with the August 18 date marking the first time that the pair are set to meet after their bout was rescheduled.