The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight might go down as one of the biggest boxing events of all time, yet it will remembered for how anticlimactic it was.
Fans struggled to watch the bout on Netflix on Friday and early Saturday due to the streaming service’s issues handling the traffic for its first live sports event. And when the bell rang, Tyson looked exactly like a 58-year-old man trying to out-box a 27-year-old. The former world heavyweight champion kept his guard up, bit his gloves and largely stood as Paul worked circles around him.
The eight-round fight went the distance, and Paul won via unanimous decision. Fans watching the event and those who likely paid hundreds, maybe thousands, to be at AT&T Stadium threw “rigged” allegations. Paul’s postfight comments didn’t alleviate those concerns.
“Yeah, definitely a bit,” Paul told reporters when asked if he went easy on Tyson, per MMA Junkie. “I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.”
Tyson made it through eight, two-minute rounds, but he only landed 18 punches, and Paul kept his distance and got his shots in when he could. The 14-ounce gloves could have played a factor. Fourteen-ounce gloves typically are used for sparring, but Paul and Tyson agreed to the stipulation over the typically used 10-ounce gloves — Tyson used 12-ounce gloves in his Roy Jones Jr. fight in 2020.
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Paul might have played a calculated game with the heavier gloves, but that still didn’t halt the complaints of a boring fight.
“Thank you for everyone tuning in and coming. 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,” Paul said. “I couldn’t really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever. But I don’t care what people have to say. They’re always gonna have something to say, and it is what it is.”
Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian also brushed off the criticism, and they both highlighted that Paul now has a career win over Tyson, whose record fell to 50-7.
Featured image via Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images
