NOS Sport•today, 06:37
Boxer Jake Paul has won the lucrative show fight with veteran Mike Tyson. In a packed AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and in front of millions of TV viewers worldwide, the jury unanimously awarded Paul the win after eight rounds.
The 70,000 fans in the stadium were en masse in support of Tyson, the 58-year-old former boxer who returned to the ring after almost twenty years. He competed against 27-year-old Paul, the American ‘problem child’ with tens of millions of followers on social media. In the Netherlands he is also known as the partner of skater Jutta Leerdam.
Tyson said in an interview just before the fight that he expected a “brutal victory”. That ultimately turned out to be disappointing for him. Paul and Tyson started their duel tentatively, but when the bell for round 3 sounded, Tyson flew out of the starting blocks. He drove Paul against the ropes, but was unable to capitalize and landed a few left hooks of his own. That trend continued later in the match.
In lap 5, the veteran’s fatigue began to show. Paul managed to hit Tyson more often than the other way around, which gave him the win.
Beforehand, fans said they had little confidence in a good outcome for Paul:
Fans have little confidence in Jake Paul: ‘Ready within a minute and a half would be great’
The fight was broadcast on Netflix, but the sheer number of viewers caused glitches. Tens of thousands of complaints were received on the website downdetector.com, which tracks disruptions. Dutch subscribers also suffered from error messages last night.
In terms of level it was not the ‘fight of the century’, but it was in terms of publicity. Rarely will a sporting event have raised as much money as the fight between the YouTuber and the boxing legend. Paul reportedly earned the equivalent of 38 million euros, Tyson would receive about half.
It was mainly about the show in the run-up to the fight. Both boxers were followed in their preparation for a television documentary. And during one staredown The day before yesterday things got completely out of hand. Everything to attract as much attention and viewers as possible.
The match took place outside the traditional boxing associations. Paul organized the event himself, with the aim of making as much money as possible.
He took up the sport six years ago. First he battled other influencers and former basketball players. Paul won those competitions, after which he challenged increasingly serious opponents. With the infamous Tyson (three-time world champion, but best known for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear) as his most famous opponent.
Not everyone in the martial arts world is happy with Paul’s rise. “It’s a circus act,” said former kickboxer Remy Bonjasky in the run-up to the match:
Paul vs. Tyson: ‘A kind of circus act, but you still want to see what happens’
