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The boos from the crowd clamoring for more action grew louder again when Jake Paul dropped his gloves and bowed to 58-year-old Mike Tyson before the final bell.
For the estimated 72,000 fans who filled the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys on Friday night, paying tribute to one of the greatest boxing fighters in history didn’t mean much.
The fight between 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer Tyson and the former heavyweight champion, the first sanctioned professional bout in nearly 20 years, saw Paul win an eight-round unanimous decision, although the striking didn’t match the hype. He defeated Tyson.
All the hatred that had built up before the match disappeared and was replaced by boos from bewildered fans who expected more from a match that had long since raised many questions about its legitimacy.
The match was not close, with one person giving it 80-72 in favor of Paul and the other two giving it 79-73.
“Let’s give it up for Mike,” Paul said in the ring, but there was little reaction from the crowd, who had started lining up even before the decision was announced. “He’s the greatest to ever do it. I respect him. I’m inspired by him.”
Tyson went after Paul right after the opening bell and landed a few quick punches, but didn’t try much for the rest.
Even fewer rounds than the usual 10 or 12, two-minute rounds instead of three, and heavy gloves designed to reduce the power of the punches didn’t do much to generate action. Ta.
After Tyson threw quick bursts in the opening seconds, Paul became more aggressive, but his punches were less efficient. There were quite a few wild swings and misses.
“I was trying to hurt him a little bit,” said Paul, who is 11-1 with seven knockouts. “I was scared he was going to hurt me. I was going to hurt him. I tried my best. I tried my best.”
Tyson, with a few exceptions, mostly sat and waited for Paul to come to him. It was in stark contrast to the slugfest between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, the other main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, with Taylor debating in another controversial decision. defended the super lightweight championship with no room left.
Paul said the ankle injury limited his sparring sessions during the final weeks of training camp, but he said he took it easy starting around the third round because he thought Tyson was tired and vulnerable. Ta.
“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t need to be hurt,” Paul said.
This is Tyson’s first sanctioned fight since 2005, and he fought Roy Jones Jr. in a more entertaining exhibition in 2020. Paul started playing the game a little over four years ago.
“I didn’t prove anything to anyone, only to myself,” Tyson said when asked what finishing the fight meant to him. “I’m not a person who tries to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do.”
The fight was originally scheduled for July 20, but was postponed after Tyson fell ill on the plane and was treated for a stomach ulcer. His record is 50 wins, 7 losses, and 44 KOs.
Tyson slapped Paul in the face during the weigh-in the night before the fight, and both men exchanged insults at several hype events before and after the postponement.
By the time the climactic battle was over, the hatred was long gone.
“I have a lot of respect for him,” Paul said. “That violence, that war between us, like after he slapped me, I got aggressive and wanted to knock him down and knock him unconscious and all that stuff. It went away as the rounds went on. I went.”
Organizers say the bout set a Texas martial arts record with nearly $18 million in prize money, but Netflix was having trouble feeding the streaming platform’s first live martial arts event. Netflix has over 280 million subscribers worldwide.
“This is the biggest event,” Paul said. “Over 120 million people use Netflix. We crashed the site.”
Among the celebrities in attendance were Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, former NFL star Rob Gronkowski and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Tyson’s enemies in his prime, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, greeted him in the locker room before the fight.
Tyson infamously bit Holyfield’s ear during their 1997 fight, and appeared to have the glove in his mouth several times during his fight with Paul. He was asked if there was a problem with the mouthpiece.
“I have a habit of chewing on gloves,” Tyson said. “I have a habit of biting.”
“I’ve heard about that,” the interviewer said.
According to reports, Paul’s salary was $40 million, while Tyson’s salary was $20 million. Paul mentioned his number during a summer promotional event. Tyson has a history of legal and financial troubles, but said he would not fight for money.
Mario Barrios defended his WBC welterweight title with a draw against Abel Ramos on the undercard. Barrios took control in the early stages, then Ramos dominated the midfield. Each suffered a knockdown in the 12 round bout.
It was the first fight for the 29-year-old Barrios since he was named WBC welterweight champion when Terrence Crawford began the process of moving up from the 147-pound weight class.
Barrios, who is 29-2-1, won the interim WBC title last year by defeating Yordenis Ugas by unanimous decision. Ramos, 33, is 28-6-3.
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AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports
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