Jake Paul emerged victorious after a gruelling contest with boxing icon Mike Tyson but failed to knock out the 58-year-old star.
Paul dominated all sessions of the eight-round match on the judges’ scorecards, yet couldn’t decisively finish Tyson, who made his first foray back into the ring after four years away from professional fighting, and nearly two decades since his last official match. The 70,000-strong crowd was clearly discontented, many leaving before the final bell sounded, oblivious to the announced outcome.
Following his win, Paul paid homage to Tyson: “Mike Tyson, he’s a legend,” he hailed. “He’s the greatest to ever do it. I look up to him and we wouldn’t be here today without him. This man is an icon and it’s an honour to fight him. It was tough like I expected it to be.”
The much-anticipated face-off between Paul and Tyson had been originally set for four months earlier, however, it was derailed when Tyson suffered an inflamed ulcer during a flight, leading him to collapse and cough blood in the bathroom, resulting in hospitalisation. Nonetheless, he was soon cleared for training again and their clash was back on, reports the Mirror.
For his entrance, Paul was seen rolling in with a custom Chevy alongside brother Logan, to the tune of Phil Collins’ ‘In The Air Tonight’ a nod to Tyson’s appearance in ‘The Hangover’. In stark contrast, Tyson’s approach to the ring was marked by a sombre march clad entirely in black.
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Tyson kicked off the first round with a sense of urgency, forcing the younger Paul to hold. Despite his cumbersome movement, Tyson sought to land punches at every chance, even earning a warning for a low blow. In the second round, Paul targeted Tyson’s body before switching to his right hand for upper body shots. Tyson managed to land a glancing left hook, but Paul held on.
By the third round, Tyson seemed to be losing steam as he struggled to cope with Paul’s increasing pressure. Fans hoping for a resurgence of Iron Mike in the ring were likely disappointed, although Paul wasn’t landing punches freely either. He dominated the fourth round, with Tyson struggling to respond.
Netflix unofficially scored the fight as a draw at the halfway point, but the reality was different as Paul started to pull ahead. However, Paul seemed to be holding back, sticking to single shots, though a right hand did give Tyson something to think about before he retaliated with a punch of his own.
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Paul appeared to struggle with the extra weight after bulking up from cruiserweight, leading to a lacklustre sixth round that left the crowd restless. In the penultimate round, Paul increased his intensity but still seemed hesitant to fully commit. A four-punch combination landed at the end of the round, but Tyson took it well.
Paul managed to land two hits on Tyson at the start of the final round, but the veteran fighter retaliated. The fight lacked a late surge from either competitor and was left to the judges who awarded Paul a hollow victory with scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.
In the undercard bout, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano delivered another Fight of the Year contender, which the Irish boxer won by a single point. Taylor had previously triumphed in their first encounter in New York two years ago via a split-decision, but it took almost three years for a rematch to be agreed upon.
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The rematch lived up to expectations, with Taylor losing a point before being declared the winner with a score of 95-94 from each of the three judges.
Mario Barrios managed to hold onto his welterweight world title after a draw with Abel Ramos, despite a sixth-round knockdown. Barrios dominated from the start, staggering his opponent in the first round and knocking him down in the second.
However, he found himself on the canvas just before the halfway mark after taking consecutive right-hand punches. Barrios made it to the end of the round and the remainder of the fight was closely contested, resulting in the judges unable to separate the two fighters, announcing scores of 112-114, 116-110, 113-113.
The main card kicked off with a win for Neeraj Goyat, who outscored Brazilian social media sensation Whindersson Nunes over six rounds. Despite his dominance from the get-go, Goyat, who has repeatedly challenged Paul to a match, lacked the power to knock out his less experienced opponent, who has been making a name for himself in the influencer boxing scene.
Shadasia Green claimed the world champion title on her second attempt by outscoring Melinda Watpool, while Lucas Bahdi’s victory over Armando Casamonica stirred some controversy. Casamonica, who stepped in at the last minute to replace the injured Corey Marksman, put up an impressive fight against Bahdi.
In the night’s opening bout, Bruce Carrington had to be content with a points victory over Dana Coolwell.