It had been over 20 years and 7,000+ days since Mike Tyson entered the ring as a pro. It looked like it, as the 58-year-old lost against YouTuber Jake Paul in a packed AT&T Stadium.
Initially met with a negative reaction when announced, the fans in Texas felt restless as there was a lack of action from both. The 27-year-old Paul looked much looser than Tyson, who couldn’t move his neck, and his legs seemed worse for wear. He even had a leg brace.
The end result was Paul putting a feather in his cap and having forever bragging rights he beat the legendary Tyson.
“It’s such an honor. He’s a legend, he’s the greatest to ever do it,” Paul said. “I look up to him, I’m inspired by him. He’s the toughest, baddest man on the planet… I was trying to hurt him a little bit. I was scared of him hurting me.”
Tyson looked sharp in the opening rounds, with a glimmer in his eye not seen in some time. However, as the fight continued, it looked like Tyson was slowing down. Paul landed crisp shots to the head of Tyson. While Tyson landed a few good blows of his own, there wasn’t much juice to his punches.
It appeared Paul was pulling some of his shots to respect Tyson. It could also be the move to heavyweight after years at cruiserweight action got to him. Regardless, it was all Paul as the fight went on.
In the end, Paul won via unanimous decision. He landed 78 of 278 shots (28%), while Tyson landed 18 of 97 (18%). Tyson has lost three straight now, while Paul has won five. He didn’t call anyone specific out after the fight. But Tyson was interested in Jake’s brother Logan. The hope is that Tyson returns to retirement and stays there.
“I knew he was a good fighter, I knew he was prepared… I didn’t prove nothing to anybody… I’m just happy with what I can do,” Tyson said.
Some positives from the event: The fight between Tyson and Paul crashed Netflix, entering the boxing and live sports streaming business. The gate surpassed $17.8 million, a record. It also produced some of the best fights outside the main event on the main card.
Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano went to war once again for undisputed gold in the People’s Main Event. For ten rounds, they gave it their all, including Serrano, who had a vicious cut above her eye following multiple headbutts from Taylor.
Taylor won via unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94) in what many call the Robbery of the Year in another Fight of the Year contender.
Serrano looked sharp early in the fight, landing crisp blows on Taylor’s face. Taylor pushed back and held onto Serrano several times. The referee warned Taylor and ended up deducting a point.
Once again, the crowd was on their feet as Serrano, with the cut getting worse, and a fighting Taylor, giving it her all. Serrano landed 324 on 734 shots thrown (44%), while Taylor landed 217 of 529 shots (41%). The latter remains champion, while Serrano, who moved up multiple weight classes, still holds gold at featherweight.
Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos had fight fans craving for more, as their clash for the WBO welterweight title ended in a draw.
The first half of the fight was all-Barrios, as he touched Ramos up. Ramos dug deep and knocked Barrios down in the sixth. From there, it was a slugfest. With one knockdown a piece, the crowd in Texas were on their feet in the championship rounds as the two slugged it out.
Per CompuBox, Barrios landed 279 shots, while Ramos landed 204. When is the rematch?
A top star from India took on a top Brazilian influencer, as Neeraj Goyat beat Whindersson Nunes handily to open the show. Goyat called out Paul several times over the last few years, and Paul returned the favor by signing him to his team. He controlled the fight, with Nunes of