Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul left a permanent stain on two-time heavyweight champion Mike Tyson’s boxing legacy with a tedious points win in front of 70,000 frustrated fans in Texas – and millions watching the controversial bout on streaming powerhouse Netflix, BBC reports.
Tyson, as you might expect from a man aged 58 and having not competed professionally in 19 years, was a shadow of his old self.
Jake Paul, 27, is a boxing novice but was too young and too athletic. He kept Tyson at range, landing jabs and accurate punches in an eight-round contest of two-minute rounds.
Tyson was slow and sluggish. He received a hero’s reception before the fight, but there were huge boos as the fight drew to a close.
Some fans left before judges’ scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73 were announced.
In an uncomfortable moment post-fight, Tyson, after his seventh pro loss in 57 bouts, called out Paul’s brother Logan and suggested he could fight again.
There were question marks on the legitimacy of this fight and how seriously both men would take it, but Tyson said he “came to fight”.
Both men wore heavier gloves with extra padding as part of the conditions set by the Texas commission, who sanctioned it as a pro fight – a decision which looks even more ludicrous post-fight.
Lighter gloves would have made no difference, no punches thrown even came close to a knockout.
Tyson landed only 18 punches in the entire fight, compared to Paul’s 78.
Jake Paul made his celebrity name by posting prank videos online and amassing a social media following of 70 million before venturing into boxing.
He wins his 11th pro fight, having lost to Tommy Fury last year, and once again reiterated his desire to fight Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
“He knows he wants a payday so he knows where the money is at,” Paul said.
The event was streamed to Netflix’s global reach of 283 million subscribers worldwide. The bout may have underwhelmed, but a show was put on for those in attendance.
With Jake Paul reported to make £30m and Tyson half that, no expense was spared for a fight generating such ludicrous amount of money.
Jake Paul was driven to the ring in a customised green car to the tune of Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight. His brother, WWE wrestler and fellow social media star Logan Paul, sat beside him.
On the back seat was a pigeon which he tried to gift Tyson – known to keep racing pigeons at his home – during fight week.
Fans remained standing throughout as an ear-splitting, pulsating roar for Tyson reverberated around the stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys NFL team.
Dressed in his trademark all black, he strutted to the ring sporting the same stern look he has had all week.
More than £14.1m was recouped from ticket sales alone, with one VIP group package which included a ringside seat and photographs with the fighters costing as much as £1.6m.
Boxing royalty Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones Jr and Andre Ward formed part of the television broadcast – and stars of Netflix shows such as Cobra Kai watched from ringside, alongside NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.