The highly-anticipated fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was plagued by glitches — though it’s unclear whether it was Netflix, or local internet service providers at fault there. But it wasn’t a glitch for Paul, who won by unanimous decision after the full 8 rounds.
The victory settles the boxing rivalry that was originally delayed from its original July 2024 date after Tyson suffered a stomach ulcer flare-up.
During the fight, Tyson displayed the aggression and physical presence he’s known for, but his age quickly proved a detriment — at 58, his stamina and speed, not to mention reach, were far below 27-year-old Paul, who by round 4 had doubled Tyson in total punches thrown.
By round 5 Tyson was visibly tired and considerably slower than Paul, punching air as often as not. Paul meanwhile smacked Tyson around, more than once hitting him in the ear and visibly staggering him.
Nevertheless, Paul failed to prove he’s a real contender in modern boxing. Rather, by round 6 the bout felt more like an exhibition match than an outright sanctioned fight, with Paul appearing to hold back as if to prolong the length of the fight rather than secure a decisive victory.
In the end, Paul landed 78 punches to Tyson’s 18; Paul threw 288, while Tyson didn’t get past 100.
Still, Paul never knocked the former champ to the mat and once the fight was over expressed admiration, calling him “one of the greatest to ever do it, he’s an icon, a legend.”
The opponents were set for 8, two-minute rounds at the end of the full main card lineup, with Tyson and Paul taking the ring after three other maincard fights, including Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes, which saw Goyat claim victory, Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos, who competed for the WBC welterweight world title, and Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2, who fought for the undisputed super lightweight world title.
The preliminary card for the boxing event included Shu Shu Carrington Jr. vs. Dana Coolwell, Lucas Bahdi vs. Armando Casamonica and Shadasia Green vs. Melinda Watpool.