Dave Portnoy reveals Mike Tyson was 'so high', 'could barely talk' and was limping at podcast recording

In the aftermath of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy recalled a time where he went on 'Iron Mike's' podcast where the host was clearly under the influence.

Portnoy went on the 'Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson' podcast in an episode released to YouTube on June 30, 2022.

On an episode of his own podcast, 'BFFs' Portnoy told co-hosts Josh Richards and Bri Chickenfry about the experience.

'I did his podcast, and he was so high... they had another guy, 'cause he could barely talk.'

Richards then intervened, saying that he recalled hearing that Tyson would take hallucinogenic mushrooms before going on that podcast.

Chickenfry then asked how the conversation went, to which Portnoy replied, 'Nothing, it was almost like there was a third guy kinda running the thing. It was an athlete [current Tennessee Titans defensive end Sebastian Joseph-Day], but Tyson was out to launch. He just wasn't there. He walked with like a limp, he has a cane.'

Portnoy brought it up during a segment about the Paul-Tyson fight where the group addressed the underwhelming result as well as the myriad of problems that streaming giant Netflix experienced. 

'It was awful to watch for multiple reasons,' Portnoy said. 'The buffering was awful for Netflix. They had like, I think they said 60million [viewers] which is insane. I guess I had no idea how many people have Netflix. It doesn't surprise me... it was free, it was built up.

'I preface this by saying I wanted to bet my entire net worth on Jake Paul. Like I am a boxing historian, I'm a Tyson historian, so I remember I'm old enough. When Tyson fought, [it was] appointment TV. 

'And back in the day, half the time, it was closed circuit. I'm 47, there's never been anyone quite like him and the world stopped when he fought. And he was scary and he was the most dangerous man on the planet.

'Those days are so far gone. Like, he went to jail for rape - kinda a weird case if I recall - came out and he was still feared. He got the eye tattoo... but he was never the same guy.'

Richards then asked about the infamous incident where Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear to clarify if it happened before or after the boxer went to jail.

'And a lot of that... I talked to his ex-trainers, when Tyson thought he couldn't win or [he'd] get scared in the prime, he'd do something crazy. It was almost a way to like get out of the fight.'

After bringing up the podcast incident, Portnoy continued railing on about the fight: 'It was the greatest... I called it con-job marketing, but I would do it if I were either of them. Jake got $40million, Tyson got $20million. Neither of them are in danger, but it's exactly what I thought.'

Richards then chimed in, saying that he knew it was going to be a win for Paul. He added that even though he doesn't gamble as much as Portnoy, he still put six-figures down on Paul to win.

'If Jake knocked him out, that's bad for Jake,' Portnoy pointed out. 'You're hurting Mike Tyson.'

When Chickenfry brought up Tyson's past indiscretions - including the boxer allegedly hitting his wife - she said that boxing fans should be applauding Paul 'a little bit' for his win.

Portnoy replied, 'You can maybe argue [Tyson's] had a metamorphosis. Like how long do you hold somebody for their crimes I guess? I know it's bad, he's a bad guy, he was the baddest, scariest motherf***er going. And that's what people remember. But I don't think they actually watched him as close. You just had to be out to launch if you thought [Tyson would win].'