In a display that was far more spectacle than spectacular, Jake Paul easily defeated 58-year-old Mike Tyson via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73) on Friday evening in a fight between two celebrities who were much more famous more about their personality than their current athletic skills.

For 60 seconds, it looked like Tyson would thrill the packed AT&T Stadium crowd in Arlington, Texas with a performance reminiscent of his heyday in the ’80s and early ’90s. For the next 19 minutes, he looked exactly like a man approaching 60 who hadn’t fought a professional boxing match in 19 years, throwing only 18 punches in total.

Paul spent much of the fight dancing around Tyson with his arms arrogantly low, daring the legendary knockout artist to get close. But Tyson never built any offense and gradually turned more and more into a statue as Paul pieced him together with fluid combinations and sharp left hooks.

Afterwards, Paul said it was an honor to share the ring with Tyson and called the former champion the GOAT.

As for the exhausted Tyson, he said he was “completely satisfied” with his performance, while admitting he entered the fight with an injury. He declined to elaborate further. He also said he might like to fight again, and offered to fight Paul’s brother, Logan Paul, who was in the ring. Logan Paul, who had an exhibition with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2021, shot back a surprised look and quickly responded, “I’ll kill you, Mike.”

Netflix’s streaming of the card, a big moment for its live sports ambitions, sparked widespread frustration among fans who suffered from buffering and freezing issues.

Still, the card featured one of the most exciting women’s boxing matches in recent memory in the co-main event between rematching rivals Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. After winning the pair’s first match in April 2022, Taylor won the rematch with a controversial unanimous decision, setting up a potentially exciting trilogy. Serrano tearfully vowed to continue chasing big moments for her sport.

Conversely, almost no one will call for a main event rematch between Paul and Tyson. The louder calls will almost certainly mean Tyson steps out of the ring for good. And Paul may have to fight against better competition if he wants to make serious progress in the sport. He didn’t call up any new opponents, but did say he was the route for boxers to make big bucks, repeating his claim that he could deliver that even to Canelo Alvarez, who is perhaps the sport’s most bankable star right now is.

Tyson, one of the sport’s biggest stars when he was heavyweight champion, looked like a shadow of the boxer who last fought professionally in 2005. And that Tyson was a boxer who quit on his stool before the seventh round against journeyman Kevin McBride.

He opened the door for Friday night’s fight with an exhibition four years ago against Roy Jones Jr., a draw that saw Paul on the undercard early in his boxing bout.

Against 27-year-old Paul on Friday night, all of Tyson’s four decades of in-ring damage were evident. YouTuber boxer Paul was much faster in his combinations, much more nervous in his reflexes and much more fluid in his combinations, using his three-inch height advantage to keep Tyson out of reach.

While it was clear that Tyson was training significantly, as evidenced by his flashes of power in the first few rounds, he had little hope of matching Paul’s gas tank.

Just six months ago, Tyson suffered a medical emergency during a flight that left him vomiting blood and ultimately losing 26 pounds, he said in the lead-up to the fight. While the eight-inch ulcer in his stomach didn’t prevent the rescheduled fight, its effects clearly played a major role Friday.

The fight was fought with 14-ounce gloves – instead of the traditional 10-ounce gloves – over the course of eight two-minute rounds, as opposed to the typical twelve three-minute rounds for men’s championship fights. But despite the exhibition-style rule changes, the fight was certainly spirited, with Paul sticking out his tongue at one point to taunt Tyson.

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Tyson punched Paul hard after Paul appeared to step on one of his feet. Paul said later that same day: “It’s personal now. He must die.”

With the win, Paul improves to 11-1. Earlier this year he knocked out Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star Mike Perry, and in recent years he has defeated former UFC stars Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

Paul joins a list of Buster Douglas, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Danny Williams and the aforementioned McBride as the only men to beat Tyson.

Tyson’s loss comes on top of his professional record, dropping his career mark to 50-7.

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(Photo: Al Bello / Getty Images for Netflix © 2024)