Jake Paul has beaten boxing legend Mike Tyson by a unanimous decision to win an intergenerational heavyweight battle in Texas that failed to live up to its enormous hype.
The Friday night bout between the 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson was streamed live on Netflix and played out in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Those fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offence against his younger opponent, landing just 18 punches to Paul’s 78.
“First and foremost, Mike Tyson – it’s an honour to be able to fight him,” said Paul. “It was as tough and hard as I thought it would be.”
Tyson, who wore a knee brace, never mounted much of a challenge after being wobbled by some left hands in the third round but did enough defensively to avoid taking any serious damage.
Tyson may fight on despite defeat
He admitted after the contest to fighting through a leg injury. “Yeah, but I can’t use that as an excuse. If I did, I wouldn’t be in here,” Tyson said.
“I knew he was a good fighter. He was prepared. I came to fight. I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I’m not one of those guys that live to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do.”
Tyson, one of the most fearsome heavyweight champions of all time during his heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s, was in his first professional fight in nearly 20 years. He was non-committal when asked if he would return to the ring again. “I don’t know. It depends on the situation,” he said.
Paul (11-1) said he can now fight anyone he wants, possibly even Mexican Canelo Alvarez, after being the main attraction in the mega event that brought out a star-studded crowd and some 72,300 fans to the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
