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
The boos from a crowd wanting more action were growing again when Jake Paul dropped his gloves before the final bell and bowed towards 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
Paying homage to one of the biggest names in boxing history did not do much for the fans who filled the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys on Friday night
Paul won an eight-round unanimous decision over Tyson as the hits did not match the hype in a fight between the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer and the former heavyweight champion in his first sanctioned pro bout in almost 20 years.
All the hate from the pre-fight build-up was gone, replaced by boos from bewildered fans hoping for more from a fight that drew plenty of questions about its legitimacy long beforehand