Paul beats Tyson as the former heavyweight champion fails to turn back time | Boxing news

Boxing icon Tyson showed his age against social media phenomenon Paul, winning on points in front of 72,300 fans.

Jake Paul has beaten boxing legend Mike Tyson by unanimous decision to win an intergenerational heavyweight fight in Texas that didn’t live up to its huge hype.

Friday night’s fight between 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prize fighter Paul and 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson was streamed live on Netflix and played out in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Those fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offense against his younger opponent, landing just 18 punches to Paul’s 78.

“First of all, Mike Tyson – it’s an honor to be able to fight him,” Paul said. “It was as rough and tough as I thought it would be.”

Tyson, wearing a knee brace, never had much of a challenge after being rocked by some left hands in the third round, but did enough defensively to avoid taking any serious damage.

Tyson can fight on despite defeat

He admitted after the competition to having battled through a leg injury. “Yeah, but I can’t use that as an excuse. If I did, I wouldn’t be here,” Tyson said.

“I knew he was a good fighter. He was prepared. I came to fight. I didn’t prove anything to anybody, only to myself. I’m not one of those guys who lives to please the world .I’m just happy that I can.”

Tyson, one of the most feared heavyweight champions of all time during his heyday in the late 1980s and early 90s, was in his first professional fight in nearly 20 years. He was non-committal when asked if he would return to the ring again. “I don’t know. It depends on the situation,” he said.

Paul (11-1) said he can now fight whoever he wants, possibly even Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez, after headlining the mega-event that brought a star-studded crowd and some 72,300 fans to the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. .

Taylor v. Serrano

In the co-main event earlier in the evening, Ireland’s Katie Taylor retained her super lightweight title when she beat Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano in a controversial unanimous decision after a violent affair.

Serrano came forward throughout the fight, but their heads clashed hard in the early stages, resulting in a deep cut over Serrano’s right eye. The referee later took a point from Taylor for headbutting.

In the end, all three judges decided 95-94 in favor of Taylor, who denied accusations from Serrano’s corner that she fought dirty.

Taylor won the pair’s previous meeting at New York’s Madison Square Garden in April 2022 and said there would be a third meeting.