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Iron Mike didn’t have enough in his tank.
The 58-year-old boxing legend returned to the ring Friday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, losing a unanimous decision to Jake Paul.
The judges scored the bout 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73 in favor of Paul.
The highly anticipated heavyweight bout lasted eight rounds but failed to live up to expectations. According to Compubox, Tyson landed only 18 of his 97 total punches, while Paul landed 78 of his 278 punches.
At the venue, which was expected to draw more than 70,000 people, boos began to fall towards the end of the match due to the lack of action. Tyson, facing an opponent more than 30 years his junior, landed a total of six punches in the final five rounds, but fewer than 10 in each of the final three rounds.
The match ended in the final seconds when Paul dropped his gloves and bowed toward Tyson, drawing boos from the crowd.
Meanwhile, many who watched from home on Netflix took to social media to express their dissatisfaction with the quality of both the stream and the main event.
“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.”
Paul, a 27-year-old YouTuber turned boxer, started his fighting career in 2020 and has improved to 11 wins and 1 loss since then. He has knocked out seven of his 10 previous opponents, from former NBA player Nate Robinson to Nate Diaz and Tommy Fury.
“I was trying to hurt you. [Tyson] Just a little bit,” Paul said. “I was scared he was going to hurt me. I was going to hurt him. I tried my best. I tried my best.”
Tyson, who slapped Paul in the face at Thursday’s weigh-in, fell to 50-7 in his storied career. He came in with 44 knockouts, but was unable to add to that record as he was competing in his first professional bout since 2005.
“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.”
Despite his performance, Tyson wasn’t ready to completely close the door on fighting again.
Mike Tyson slapped Jake Paul at the weigh-in in Arlington, Texas on Thursday night.
The Tyson vs. Paul fight was originally scheduled for July, but was postponed after Tyson experienced an ulcer recurrence in May. The bout was professionally sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, but consisted of two-minute rounds instead of the usual three-minute rounds, and the boxers wore thick gloves designed to reduce the impact of their punches. Ta.
Two years after their historic and iconic showdown at Madison Square Garden, this new thriller between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano proved to be the fight of the night in the semi-main event. It was an event.
The rematch resulted in another close decision, with both boxers bloodied and bruised. Taylor defended his unanimous super lightweight championship thanks to a unanimous and controversial decision of 95-94 from all three judges.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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