The highly-awaited clash between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson saw the Youtuber-turned-boxer Paul come through as the victor after eight rounds at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Paul, competing in only his 12th fight, won on a comfortable unanimous decision against Tyson, marking his return to pro boxing after nearly 20 years.
Although the match didn’t provide the knockout moment many would have hoped for, there were still plenty of interesting storylines to follow throughout the captivating event, streamed on Netflix.
Here are 10 takeaways from Tyson vs Paul
1. 31-year age difference clear to see
58-year-old Tyson looked tired and outmatched from an energy standpoint compared to the 27-year-old Paul. Throughout the eight rounds, Paul moved better and quicker, able to dictate the fight with his higher energy.
2. Paul happy to play with the dimensions of the ring, boxing smarts on show
To his credit, Jake Paul didn’t make it a battle of egos. Tyson’s best chance was to land a big KO-punch and end the bout early, but Paul spent the early rounds flitting around the edges, wearing down his opponent and making sure he made most use of his advantage.
3. ‘Iron Mike’ without the stamina of days gone by; time to hang up the gloves?
Notorious for taking up fights one after another in his youth, Tyson looked every bit his age in Texas during the fight. From the very first round, the commentators noticed how his legs weren’t moving well, with padding on the right knee as well. A couple of sharp dodges in the opening rounds were present, but even those faded away.
4. Paul aggressive but inefficient; was he pulling his punches?
Paul was happy to be the aggressor, throwing punches in the middle rounds and showing off his better stamina in this shortened two-minute-round bout. However, he also seemed not to go for a big knockout blow, never trying to over-reach by being too aggressive in his attack, maybe as a sign of respect for the tiring Tyson towards the end of the fight.
5. Tyson with some early rhythm, but broken up by Paul
Tyson started off with the opening punches of the encounter, clearly trying to establish the upper hand in the contest. But Paul was clever in how he allowed Tyson to grow slightly frustrated, messing up his rhythm and taking control himself.
6. Plenty of mutual respect between the fighters
In a very nice moment at the end of the fight, Paul showed his respect for a fighter three decades his elder, bowing down to him to thank him for a memorable fight. Tyson returned the gesture, reaching out an arm to shake hands with his young counterpart.
7. ‘He’s the GOAT,’ says Paul after the conclusion
In the post-bout interview in the ring, Paul was again quick to thank Tyson for taking up the fight. “It’s such an honour. Let’s give it up for Mike, bro, he’s a legend, he’s the greatest to ever do it,” said Paul.
8. Mike Tyson calls out the other Paul brother, Logan?
When asked if that would be it for Mike Tyson professionally, Tyson said “I don’t think so.” When asked what might inspire him, at nearly 60, to come back out for another fight, Tyson said “I don’t know, maybe his brother,” indicating towards Logan Paul, who was also in the ring and currently fights in the WWE.
9. Main event overshadowed by Taylor-Serrano undercard
While many were disappointed by the quality of boxing, there was no questioning the guts and spirit on show in the super-lightweight title match between Ireland’s Katie Taylor and Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano. The fight went the distance, 10 rounds of heavy and warrior-like scrapping, leaving both fighters bloodied and with swollen faces after a fantastic contest which earned plaudits. Taylor retained her title by unanimous decision.
10. Netflix live-stream disappoints heavily
Netflix’s biggest live-stream sports event to date, the performance of the website was concerning as the servers repeatedly crashed, and displayed the match in poor quality as it struggled with the amount of viewers worldwide. Netflix is trying to make a foray into sports broadcasting, but will need to clean up their act following a pretty disappointing performance from the streaming giants.
