 "Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson Fight: A predictable sham that lived up to expectations")
The Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight was seen by many as a sham and so it proved to be as the 58-year-old boxing icon ‘Iron Mike’ failed to turn back the clock, losing by unanimous decision at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Expecting Tyson to turn back the clock at such a senior age against Paul, who may not be the best boxer of all time but is only 27, was always a far-fetched idea, and any doubts that lingered were quickly busted once the match started .
Immediately after the opening bell, Tyson tried to attack Paul as he landed a couple of punches but that was it as far as attacking action from the former heavyweight champion was concerned. He was battered till the end with quick jabs and hooks from the YouTuber-turned-boxer, however, the ferocity not quite what he expected.
The match only had eight rounds as against the usual 10 or 12 rounds and each round was only two minutes long instead of three. The boxers wore heavier gloves to reduce the impact of the punches and the fight showed why such rules were made .
Slow-show as far from a professional fight
Both boxers were undercooked, Tyson more so because of his age as he moved slowly, and clinged onto Paul at times to avoid the blows. Paul managed to land just 78 out of his 278 punches while Tyson could only connect 18 punches after making 97 attempts.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe live-streaming platform Netflix, which also sponsored the fight, also had a hard time as viewers across the globe experienced outages .
If anything, the only impressive aspect of the fight was Tyson’s defence who did very well to avoid much of the damage. This, however, could be a result of Paul’s inefficiency.
The younger boxer, who moved to 11-1 after the victory over Tyson, was asked in the ring post-match why he didn’t go for the knockout. Paul replied: “I was trying to hurt him a little bit. I was scared he was going to hurt me. I was trying to hurt him. I did my best. I did my best.”
He, however, in a typical boxer’s style also declared that Tyson was scared in the fight. “I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt somebody that didn’t need to be hurt,” Paul said.
This was more like the aggressiveness that was seen ahead of the fight at the weigh-in when Tyson slapped Paul , but during the bout, the hostility gave away for a slow-show that ended in an ironic heartwarming gesture. Before the final bell rang, Paul dropped his gloves and bowed to Tyson. It was his way of showing respect to the boxing legend who was fighting his first professional fight in 19 years and once dominated the ring with unseen aggressive boxing.
This moment, however, also gave a reality check about the legitimacy of the fight.
It was sanctioned by the authorities in Texas and the result will reflect in the professional records of the boxers but the fight finished as a sham which was confirmed by the boos that rang around the stadium when Paul was paying his respects to Tyson.
Organisers rip off fans
As per a report, 72,300 boxing fans were present at the stadium and they could not hold back their jeers against Paul and Tyson as they felt ripped off. Paul and Tyson will have no such complaints as they are reportedly set to make $40 million and $20 million respectively.
The only positive takeaway was that Tyson seemingly avoided any “neurological damage,” which had been a major concern. However, it raises serious questions about how the organisers manipulated fans’ emotions for profit.
Had Paul been more aggressive, the medical outcome could have been far worse – a scenario no one wanted to see. Yet, with no real competition in the fight, it begs the question: What was the point of calling it a professional bout?
It only highlighted one thing, something that was professed even before Tyson vs Paul began – such a bout should never have taken place.
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