In a display that fell short of even the most measured expectations that come with gimmick fights, Jake Paul breezed past a 58-year-old Mike Tyson on Friday night in a bout that was heavy on nostalgia and bombast but lacking in any sort of competitive satisfaction.
Tyson landed just 18 punches in eight sluggish rounds. Paul, the 27-year-old influencer who is far better at promotion than boxing, followed suit by just letting them both get to the end for a decision. By then, they were both surely richer by millions and the fight that didn’t matter in the first place proved to be one that fans wanted to quickly forget.
It was also a mixed night for Netflix, which streamed the bout to its hundreds of millions of subscribers without charging extra fees, but struggled to keep up with clearly high demand and widespread complaints of freezing, buffering and resolution problems.
“I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” Paul told reporters afterward.
For about 60 seconds, it looked like Tyson might thrill the packed AT&T Stadium crowd in Arlington, Texas, with a momentary flashes of the presence he had during his heyday in the ’80s and early ’90s. But for the next 15 minutes, plus some breaks for deep breaths, he looked exactly like a man nearing his 60th birthday who hadn’t fought a professional boxing match in 19 years.
Paul spent much of the fight dancing around Tyson. He lowered his arms often and taunted the legendary knockout artist to try to get close. But Tyson never built up any offense, and went long stretches without even throwing punches. Paul pieced him up with elementary combinations and some sharp left hooks, but even his glancing blows drew some reaction from a clearly underwhelmed crowd seeking any kind of highlight.
Afterward, Paul said it was an honor to share the ring with Tyson and called the former champion the GOAT.
As for the exhausted Tyson, he said he was “totally happy” with his performance, while admitting he went into the fight with an injury. He refused to elaborate.
He did say that he might like to fight again, and offered to fight Paul’s brother, Logan Paul, who was standing in the ring. Logan Paul, a WWE wrestler who had an exhibition with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2021, shot back a puzzled look and a quick retort: “I’ll kill you, Mike.”
Netflix declined comment on its technical issues, which came in the leadup to the Tyson-Paul bout and especially undercut the most thrilling bout on the card, Katie Taylor’s controversial decision win over Amanda Serrano. It was Taylor’s second win over her rival and a high profile followup to their first match in April 2022 that sold out Madison Square Garden. Serrano, clearly gutted by the judges’ scores, tearfully pledged to keep chasing big moments for her sport.
Hardly anyone, conversely, will be calling for a rematch of the main event between Paul and Tyson. The louder calls will almost certainly be for Tyson to step away from the ring for good. And, perhaps, for Paul to fight legitimate competitors who are active in the sport.
It’s unclear, of course, if Paul wants to do that. His 11-1 record is padded with wins over subpar competition, and his one loss was to Tommy Fury, who boxes but had been better known as a reality TV personality and the half brother of Tyson Fury, the heavyweight star.
Paul didn’t call out any new opponents, but did say that he was the route for boxers to make big paydays, and repeated his claim that he could deliver that even to Canelo Alvarez, who is perhaps the sport’s most bankable star right now.
Paul claimed in the leadup to the fight that he was earning $40 million for the bout with Tyson, though the actual earnings for both headliners was not made public. Clearly, getting in the ring was a victory for both men even though their display barely qualified as a fight.
“There was a point where I was just like, he’s not really engaging back,” Paul said, adding: “I could just tell that his age was showing a little bit.”
Tyson, one of the biggest stars in sports when he was at his height, looked like a shell of the boxer who last fought professionally in 2005. Even that Tyson quit on his stool before the seventh round against journeyman Kevin McBride.
Still, he opened the door for Friday night’s bout with an exhibition four years ago against Roy Jones Jr., a draw that featured Paul on the undercard early in his boxing foray.
On Friday night, the wear on Tyson was evident. The YouTuber-turned-boxer Paul was more comfortable with his technique and used his three-inch height advantage to keep Tyson out of range.
While it was clear Tyson trained significantly, as evidenced by his flashes of power in the first few rounds, he had little hope of matching Paul’s endurance.
Just six months ago, Tyson suffered a medical emergency on a flight that left him throwing up blood and eventually losing 26 pounds, he said in the buildup to the fight. While the two-and-a-half-inch ulcer in his stomach didn’t prevent the rescheduled bout from taking place, its effects clearly played a major role Friday.
The bout was fought with 14-ounce gloves — rather than the traditional 10-ounce gloves — over the course of eight two-minute rounds, as opposed to the typical 12 three-minute rounds for men’s championship fights.
At the weigh-ins Thursday, Tyson delivered a stiff slap to Paul after Paul appeared to step on one of his feet. Paul said later the same day: “It’s personal now. He must die.”
Paul joins a list of Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Danny Williams and the aforementioned McBride as the men who have beaten Tyson.
Tyson’s loss went on his professional record, lowering his career mark to 50-7.
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(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)
