YouTuber Jake Paul slams Mike Tyson as boos heard during controversial fight | Ents & Arts News

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has defeated one of the greatest fighters of all time, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who is more than twice his age.

Paul, 27, won the fight via unanimous points decision at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – home of the Dallas Cowboys and the largest NFL stadium in the US.

The match was already controversial, but it arguably failed to live up to the hype. Boos were heard from the crowd in the final two rounds, following a perceived lack of action.

Afterwards, the couple heaped praise on each other. Paul said: “This man is an icon and it’s just an honor to be able to fight him. And he’s obviously the toughest, baddest man on the planet.”

Tyson, 58, described Paul as a “good fighter” but dismissed the suggestion he was out to prove something.

“I didn’t prove anything to anyone, only to myself,” he said.

Boxing careers compared

This was not Paul’s first professional fight. The American YouTube star made his debut in 2020 and his most high-profile clash was last year against Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy Furywhich he lost by split decision.

The so-called “Problem Child” has since defeated former UFC contender Nate Diaz, professional boxer Andre August, former Gold Gloves champion Ryan Bourland and most recently MMA fighter Mike Perry.

In contrast, “Iron Mike” Tyson was ranked among the best heavyweight boxers of all time.

During his career he knocked out 44 opponents – he retired from professional boxing in 2005 after defeat by Kevin McBride.

He returned to the ring in 2020 for a fight against fellow boxing icon Roy Jones, who ended in an unofficial draw.

‘Someone is put to sleep’

Earlier this week, Paul said he thought the fight wouldn’t go far. “No, someone is being put to sleep,” he said. “It’s going to be a war and we’re both heavy hitters. It won’t last the full 16 minutes.”

Tyson said: “I’ve been through so many ups and downs since my last fight with Kevin McBride.

“I’ve been in rehab. I’ve been in jail, locked up. Never in a million years did I think I’d be doing this.”

Several states would not allow the fight to go ahead, and the Texas Athletic Commission only agreed to the fight if there were changes due to Tyson’s age.

It limited the contest to eight rounds of a maximum of two minutes instead of three. Both boxers were also required to wear heavier gloves, designed to lessen the force of punches.

The fight was originally scheduled for July 20, but was postponed when Tyson suffered a stomach ulcer.

Taylor defends the title

Meanwhile, among the undercard bouts, Irish boxer Katie Taylor successfully defended her world super lightweight title against Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano.

But it was tight. Taylor claimed the rematch 95-94 for all three judges in an epic fight.

The bout came two and a half years after the pair fought at Madison Square Garden, which Taylor won by split decision.

Bout suffered from buffering

Earlier in the evening, thousands of Netflix users in the US reported issues with coverage, with some posting on social media about buffering.

At one point, more than 98,000 people had reported problems, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages.