Mike Tyson's slap of Jake Paul during Thursday's weigh-in was prompted because the former heavyweight champion had his foot stepped on.

Tyson told Michael Kaplan of the New York Post that Paul is a "f--king a--hole" while explaining what happened that led to the slap.

"I was in my socks and he had on shoes," Iron Mike said. "He stepped on my toe because he is a f--king a--hole. I wanted to think it happened by accident. But now I think it may have happened on purpose. I was in a lot of pain. I had to reciprocate."

Based on the video from the incident, there doesn't appear to be an obvious moment when Paul stepped on Tyson's foot.

Security quickly intervened to pull Tyson away from Paul to prevent the situation from escalating.

Whether or not Paul intended to step on Tyson's foot intentionally, both fighters got what they wanted out of the situation. It generated headlines and increased the anticipation for their boxing match.

Both fighters made weight for their heavyweight bout. Tyson tipped the scales at 228.4 pounds, slightly more than Paul at 227.2 pounds.

The next step is just to see which one leaves the ring with a victory. Tyson, 58, is competing in his first sanctioned bout since 2005. His last victory in a professional bout was against Clifford Etienne on Feb. 22, 2003.

Paul is 10-1 in 11 boxing matches since turning pro in 2020. Seven of his 10 victories have come via knockout or TKO.

Tyson and Paul will square off at AT&T Stadium on Friday. The seven-fight card starts at 8 p.m. ET on Netflix.