Jake Paul the villain? Boxer discusses meeting Mike Tyson face to face before their fight

Jake Paul had a decision to make.

It involved Mike Tyson, of course, but not strictly their heavyweight fight scheduled for July 20 in Texas.

To promote the heavyweight bout, Paul and Tyson will met face-to-face Monday in New York and again Thursday in Arlington, Texas, site of the event to be broadcast by Netflix. Paul must decide how to behave, and like a jerk is a clear option.

He was mostly respectful in New York. But did anyone expect that to last? The script flipped in Texas, where Paul on Thursday was boorish, boastful and profane. History could have predicted as much.

Paul, 27, has insulted, baited, ridiculed and generally disrespected most of his opponents. But he affectionately refers to his next opponent as "Uncle Mike" and has expressed reverence for the 57-year-old Tyson.

"I’m a little torn as to my approach for a multitude of reasons …," Paul said on the most recent episode of his podcast. "But the main thing is, I, like, put on this character of like being brash and cocky and all of these things and draw a lot of hate for that.

"And I could easily go as the villain and the bad guy. I think it’s fun. I love doing it, I’m great at it. But I thought it’d be really funny if I just got up there and was just fully myself."

Who is the real Jake Paul?

Paul suggests the public has not seen his authentic self.

"First of all, I don’t like talking to people," he said on his podcast. "I don’t like all the (expletive). Like I do it because it’s what I believe is part of my destiny and all these things and I’ve been good at it since I was a kid."

Showing a softer side, Paul started a 501 (c)(3) non-profit called Boxing Bullies. The mission is "to instill self confidence, leadership, and courage within the youth through the sport of boxing while using our platform, voice, and social media to fight back against bullying."

According to the Boxing Bullies website, the non-profit has raised more than $400,000 and is in the process of renovating five boxing gyms.

Paul boosted women’s boxing when he signed Amanda Serrano to Most Valuable Promotions, the company he founded. Serrano’s fight against Katie Taylor will be the co-main event July 20.

He also called on UFC president Dana White to substantially increase compensation for the fighters.

Yet what lingers is the memory of the final press conference before Paul’s third pro fight, against Ben Askren. who said, "It’s pretty amazing how many people don’t like you. I actually find it pretty impressive, your ability to be disliked."

Can Jake Paul rein himself in?

Paul has shown restraint.

It happened before his sixth pro fight, against legendary UFC fighter Anderson Silva, whom Paul said he idolized growing up.

"Anderson Silva is the nicest guy in the world and we love him," Paul said. "If my opponent is (an expletive), I’m going to treat him like (an expletive) and beat his (expletive). And I think people have seen that side of me.

"But I respect this man. I’m still going to knock him out, but respectfully knock him out."

Paul’s last two opponents, Andre August and Ryan Bourland, were all but devoid of trash talk and arrogance. But Paul mocked August after knocking him out in the first round and mimicked Borland’s slow speech after stopping him with a first-round TKO.

Now comes Tyson, and Paul said he’s contemplating the possibility of playing it low-key in the presence of "Uncle Mike."

"The fight wouldn’t be necessarily as big," said Paul, who grew up outside of Cleveland. "But it would be funny if I just got up there when they were asking me questions … like I’m just a kid from Ohio."

Think again.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jake Paul flips script on Mike Tyson at event promoting fight