In his first professional boxing match since 2005, Mike Tyson returned to the ring on Saturday and looked very much his 58 years of age.
In the biggest age gap between opponents in professional boxing history, 27-year-old Jake Paul appeared to take it easy on his legendary opponent and was booed by the AT&T Stadium crowd in Arlington, Texas, for doing so in a unanimous decision. Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) took home judges’ scores of 80-72 and 79-71 (twice) under modified rules of eight, two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves.
The main event of the first combat sports event to air live on Netflix looked more like a sparring match or exhibition, in the end, as Paul went on to outland Tyson (50-7, 44 KOs) by a margin of 78 to 18, according to CompuBox.
“First and foremost, Mike Tyson, it’s an honor,” Paul said. “He’s a legend and the greatest to ever do it. He’s the G.O.A.T. I look up to him and am inspired by him. It was an honor being able to fight him. He’s the baddest man on the planet. It was really tough like I expected it to be.”
Tyson, who boxed eight rounds against Roy Jones Jr. in a 2020 exhibition and went viral for slapping Paul at Thursday’s weigh-in, looked dangerous in the opening round but was unable to unleash any form of sustained offense for the rest of the fight as his legs slowed quickly despite Tyson showing a responsible defensive effort behind his high guard and head movement.
For most of the bout, Paul appeared to either be taking it easy on Tyson by jabbing to the body and only punching from long range or looked as if he was fearful of a potential Tyson counter shot. A combination from Paul in Round 3 appeared to hurt and wobble Tyson, but Paul let him off the hook.
“I was trying to hurt him a little bit [but] I was scared he was trying to hurt me,” Paul said. “I did my best, I did my best.”
Outside of a few single counter shots in the first three rounds, Tyson barely mounted any offense the rest of the way as he attempted just 97 punches overall in the eight rounds to 278 for Paul.
“I knew he was a good fighter and knew he was prepared,” Tyson said. “I came to fight. I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I’m not one of those guys who tries to please other people, I only try to please myself.
“[Paul] is a very good fighter.”
By Round 6, it was clear Paul was showing full-on mercy for his Hall-of-Fame opponent. In the waning seconds of the eighth and final round, as boos from the crowd began to pile up, Paul bowed down to Tyson out of respect and the two embraced after the final bell.
“He’s exactly what I thought and one of the greatest to ever do it,” Paul said. “This guy has always had my back. I love him and his family and his coaches. It was an honor to be in the ring with all of them.”
Despite the largely lifeless defeat, Tyson claimed he wants to continue fighting and offered Paul’s brother, WWE star and part-time boxer Logan, as a potential opponent. Paul, meanwhile, refused to call out a name for his next fight and didn’t seem too interested, either, in backing up pre-fight comments about his desire to box former pound-for-pound king and Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez when prompted.
“Anyone I want,” Paul said. “This is the biggest event ever, over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site. Everyone is next on the list. I’m not going to call out specific names. Canelo needs me, so I’m not going to try to call him out. He knows he wants the payday and he knows where the money fight is.”
CBS Sports will be with you throughout the entire way on Friday with the live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Jake Paul def. Mike Tyson via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73)
- Katie Taylor (c) def. Amanda Serrano via unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94)
- Mario Barrios (c) vs. Abel Ramos ends in a split draw (114-112, 110-116, 113-113)
- Neeraj Goyat def. Whindersson Nunes via unanimous decision (59-55, 60-54, 60-54)
- Shadasia Green def. Melinda Watpool via split decision (97-93, 94-96, 96-94)
- Lucas Bahdi def. Armando Casamonica via majority decision (95-95, 96-93, 98-92)
- Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington Jr. def. Dana Coolwell via unanimous decision (80-70, 80-70, 80-70)
Tyson vs. Paul scorecard, live coverage
| Tyson | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 73 |
| Paul | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 79 |
