Three thoughts on Jake Paul’s decision to beat Mike Tyson on Friday.

This “fight” went exactly as expected

Anyone who believed that 58-year-old Mike Tyson, years removed from his last time in the ring, twenty years after his last sanctioned fight and just months away, suffered what he called a near-death experience when a 2-inch ulcer broke through winning weeks before the originally scheduled fight was a delusion. In 1994, Tyson was a boxing terror. In 2024, he’s a grandfather, and regardless of the skill level of Paul, a YouTuber turned boxer who built a brand destroying a parade of ex-MMA fighters, Tyson would never beat a 27-year-old who knew how to punch .

For the Tyson truths – and there were some shocking number of them – it took less than a round to figure that out. Tyson came out quickly, wing-beating, and chased after Paul, who looked understandably anxious in the first minute. But Tyson faded in the second half of the round — the second half of eight two-minute rounds contested with well-padded 14-ounce gloves — and never recovered.

In the fourth he seemed to give up. According to CompuBox, he didn’t hit a single punch in the fourth. He landed just two in the fifth and put up another goose egg in the sixth. Paul, probably recognizing a weakened Tyson before him, seemed to take his foot off the gas in the middle rounds, boxing from the outside, content, even as the boos descended, to arrive at a lopsided decision.

According to CompuBox, Paul landed 78 of his 278 punches.

Tyson connected on just 18 of 97.

This was sad

Seriously, this was hard to watch. At his peak, Tyson was terrifying. In 2003, Buddy McGirt, a Hall of Fame trainer, worked in Clifford Etienne’s corner for his fight against Tyson. In the hours leading up to the match, Etienne was confident. Stubborn, even. Eight months earlier, Lennox had knocked out Lewis Tyson. Etienne was sure he would do the same. When Tyson entered the ring, he ripped the towel off his shoulders and threw it at Etienne’s feet. “At that moment,” McGirt said, “I saw Cliff’s soul leave his body.” Tyson knocked out Etienne in 49 seconds.

When he went to the ring on Friday, with the same towel (now branded by a sponsor) draped over him, Tyson just looked old. At least this should have been fun for Tyson. It was an official fight – thank the idiots at the Texas athletic commission for that – but not one Real An. Tyson would earn eight figures for a sparring session. But Tyson was out for the entire fight week. He came alive at the weigh-in and punched Paul, only after Paul stood on his toes. And as he walked his ring in front of an energetic crowd, Tyson looked like he wished he were somewhere else.

That’s not Tyson. After the fight, Tyson called out Jake’s brother, Logan Paul. He could have been joking. Anyway, pass. Tyson should be remembered for his wins over Michael Spinks, Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno where he didn’t shuffle behind Paul. YouTube searches should reveal Trevor Berbick’s cartoonish knockout, not punches from a novice. Tyson made a lot of money on Friday. Only he knows if it was worth it.

What’s next, Jake?

After the fight, Paul reiterated his desire to challenge Canelo Álvarez, wildly claiming that Álvarez needs it. Of course not Canelo. The unified super-middleweight champion is boxing’s biggest draw, raking in 1 in millions when he fights. Alvarez has left the door open for a fight with Paul, but Paul’s win over Tyson is unlikely to force him to do so.

“(Canelo) wants a payday,” Paul said. “He knows where the money man is.”

Still, Paul has options. A long-discussed showdown against fellow YouTuber KSI would suffice enormous figures. There is a rematch with Tommy Fury, who gave Paul his only defeat last year. If Paul wants to continue down the path of facing legitimate boxers, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said this week that Paul is “on track” to earn a ranking from the sanctioning body.

Paul-Tyson is over. But the Paul era in boxing will continue.