Jake Paul defeats Mike Tyson via unanimous decision in a highly anticipated fight

CNN
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YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul defeated former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson via unanimous decision in their highly anticipated professional bout Friday night in Arlington, Texas.

Fighting in front of 72,300 fans at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, Paul controlled most of the fight against Tyson, winning via unanimous decision after all three judges scored in his favor by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.

With the win, Paul improves to 11-1 in his professional career, including seven knockouts, and becomes the sixth fighter to defeat the Hall of Famer in his career.

“First of all Mike Tyson, it’s such an honor,” Paul told Tyson after the fight. “He’s the ONE I look up to, I’m inspired by him and we wouldn’t be here today without him. This man is an icon and it’s just an honor to be able to fight him.”

The opening rounds were fairly tame as the two boxers got used to each other’s fighting styles.

Tyson, who hadn’t fought a professional fight in 19 years, came out aggressively in the third round, throwing hard punches and clipping Paul early. But Paul responded a few moments later, catching Tyson with several well-placed punches that seemed to shake the former heavyweight champion.

The 58-year-old began to show signs of fatigue for the first time in the fight and became stagnant. He never showed off the falls, ties or explosions with haymakers that once gave him 44 knockouts.

Roy Jones Jr., who Tyson last fought in a November 2020 exhibition, was on the broadcast panel and noted Tyson’s lack of movement. “I don’t like Mike’s legs. I don’t like Mike’s legs at all.”

Paul continued to take control of the fight from there, landing his combinations and giving Tyson trouble with his jabs. Tyson showed bursts of energy throughout the later rounds, but never proved to be a real threat.

The pair were originally scheduled to fight in July this year, but that was postponed when Tyson experienced a wound that flared up on a flight.

Tyson was asked after the fight if he felt he proved to the world that he could go the distance despite his age.

“I didn’t prove anything to anybody, only to myself. I’m not one of those guys who looks to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do,” Tyson said.

In his professional career, Tyson was known for his brutal knockouts, where he won in emphatic fashion over legends such as Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes. His last professional win was in February 2003 when he defeated Clifford Etienne by a first round knockout. His last fight was an exhibition match against Jones Jr. in November 2020, which ended in a draw.

Friday’s fight was perhaps the most high-profile fight to date for Paul, who had an unconventional introduction to boxing, which he said started “as a whole YouTube extravaganza” of people challenging him and his brother Logan.

In January 2020, Paul entered the ring for his first professional fight, beating YouTuber Ali Eson Gib by technical knockout. Since his debut, he has defeated retired basketball player Nate Robinson and former MMA legends Tyron Woodley, Anderson Silva and Nate Diaz.

Last February, Paul suffered his first loss at the hands of Tommy Fury, younger brother of former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Paul bounced back from the loss with a unanimous decision win over retired UFC fighter Diaz. In his last few fights, he defeated professional boxers Andre August and Ryan Borland, as well as bare-knuckle boxing champion Mike Perry.

Friday night’s fight was Netflix’s first live boxing event, featuring seven action-packed bouts.

However, viewers on social media were reporting throughout the night that they were having trouble watching the event on the streaming platform. Some of the issues included buffering lags, lags, and problems loading the match.

According to Down detectorabout 90,000 viewers reported blackouts in the hour leading up to the game.

Some viewers on social media posted pictures of their frozen TV screens, and others of the spinning loading wheel, saying they had to reload the app to see it.

Another reported issue was broadcast audio, particularly during an interview with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. While talking to other analysts, Jones’ microphone didn’t seem to be working, making it difficult for viewers to hear what he was saying.

Netflix declined to comment on the issues.

“This is the biggest event,” Paul said of the fight’s success. “Over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site.”

The streaming platform will next show two NFL games on Christmas Day after signing a three-season deal with the league. Also starting in 2025, WWE’s weekly “Raw” show will air on the platform.

Exciting co-main event ends in controversy

In the co-main event, it was the second leg of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano. The crowd and commentators erupted in disbelief and boos as Taylor was awarded a unanimous decision victory.

The two fighters put on a master class, with Serrano being the aggressor and Taylor throwing power shots and often clashing heads with the challenger. In the eighth round, the champion was deducted a point after her fourth judged headbutt.

Serrano looked in control, and was blindsided by the decision. After the fight, Serrano called Taylor a “dirty fighter”. According to Compubox, Serrano outscored the champion 324-217.

This story has been updated with additional information.