At 58, ex-world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson stood his ground and took the hits, but in the end, it was influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul, 27, who had the above on the legend, Friday night, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
In front of some 72,000 fans gathered in the Dallas Cowboys stadium and under the gaze of countless others glued to Netflix, Jake Paul emerged victorious from an eight-round fight of two minutes each which, at the same time, aroused passions and questions, mainly because of the 31 years that separated the two adversaries.
Finally, given the gap between the pugilists in terms of blows delivered and the general appearance of the duel, the three judges handed out cards of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73, all in favor of Paul, who He therefore won by unanimous decision.
In front of an enthusiastic crowd that included many celebrities, including Shaquille O'Neal and Rob Gronkowski, Tyson demonstrated remarkable endurance, but ultimately his slow reflexes prevented him from keeping up with the pace set by his opponent, although the ex-champion had a good start to the fight.
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Jake Paul entered the scene in a modified car, smoked to boot.
Photo : Associated Press / Julio Cortez
Even before the final bell sounded, Jake Paul clasped his hands and bowed to Tyson as a sign of respect. Then the two men embraced.
Mike is an icon, I'm honored to have been able to fight against him
Paul threw into the ring afterwards.
I haven't proven anything to anyone but myself
Tyson said. He later claimed he might not be done with boxing yet.
The clash, initially scheduled for July 20, had to be postponed due to health problems experienced by Tyson, including a stomach ulcer. Later, the authorities who govern combat sports in Texas put their stamp of approval on the duel.
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Jake Paul, left, and Mike Tyson hugged each other as the final bell rang.
Photo : Associated Press / Julio Cortez
Tyson's last sanctioned fight was in 2005, a loss to Kevin McBride. He then retired with a record of 50 victories, including 44 by knockout, and 6 defeats.
For his part, Paul had a record of 10 wins, including 7 by knockout, and 1 loss.
On Friday, both boxers used heavier gloves than usual – 14 ounces rather than 10 – in order to mitigate the power of the blows.
According to various sources, this clash brought in US$40 million for Jake Paul and around US$20 million for Mike Tyson.
