After almost a year of build-up for last night’s super-fight, things ended with something of a whimper in Dallas.
Jake Paul appeared to let Mike Tyson survive the eight rounds in their bout, which served as the boxing icon’s return to the ring as a professional after 19 years out. After an intense opening two rounds, the 58-year-old looked his age very quickly as his 27-year-old rival moved around with ease.
The heavyweight duo were close friends before the bout was signed, and it seems that the hardest shot landed was actually at Friday’s weigh-in when Tyson smacked Paul. The YouTuber-turned-boxer now moves on in his pursuit of a world title, while his opponent is hopefully hanging up the gloves for good.
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Jake Paul defeats Mike Tyson in record-breaking heavyweight clash
On Friday night, the talking finally ended after a lengthy lead-up to what was one of the most anticipated boxing matches of the year. Over 72,000 fans packed into the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas with a further tens of millions watching on Netflix.
However, they may have been disappointed as ‘Iron Mike’ began to show his age from the third round onwards. Instead of pushing for a finish, though, Paul decided to move around and get a comfortable decision victory.
So many viewers tuned in that the ubiquitous streamer ended up crashing for a number of users around the world. And while they weren’t served a barn burner of a main event, those who did get to catch the event were treated to an entertaining night.
The star performers of the night were Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in the co-main event. They had already fought before, headlining in their own right at Madison Square Garden, but in their rematch they showed even more fire, with the Irishwoman eeking out a razor-close and controversial decision.
Jake Paul admits he carried Mike Tyson to the final bell
In the immediate aftermath of the bout, many viewers felt that perhaps there was an element of the fight being scripted. However, that was not the case, and Paul admitted in the post-fight press conference that it was more a case of him not wanting to hurt an aging legend.
There were comparisons in the build-up to Vitor Belfort’s crass demolition of beloved former champion Evander Holyfield in 2021, and it seems Paul was not eager to offer a repeat of that. Instead, he chose to bring the fight the distance and allow Tyson to go out with dignity.
Asked if he had ‘carried’ Tyson, Paul replied: “Yeah, definitely. Definitely a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.”
He also noted that it was hard to make a fight exciting with a man who was clearly struggling to get through the eight rounds, adding: “I tried to give the best fight I possibly could, but when someone’s just surviving in the ring, basically it’s hard to make it exciting.
“So I couldn’t really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever, but I don’t care about what people have to say. They’re always going to have something to say and that it is what it is.”
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