Jake Paul defeats Mike Tyson during Netflix's glitchy production
The Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight was built as one of the most highly anticipated fights of all time. More than 70,000 people filled AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, bringing in $17.8 million in revenue from ticket sales, according to Most Valuable Promotions. It was the biggest gate outside of Las Vegas.
The media circus that surrounded the event created massive hype amongst boxing fans and casual fans of the sport.
The YouTuber turned fighter Paul, who built his brand on being disliked, with many on social media wanting to see Tyson use his iron fist and bury it in his opponent’s face.
The 27-year-old Paul took his 10-1 record into the fight, riding in a green lowrider with his brother Logan Paul, with Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” heard echoing over the stadium. If you remember, that was the same song Tyson was jamming out to in the original “Hangover” film. The first of many subtle jabs from Paul to Tyson on the historic night.
Paul wore a $1 million diamond-encrusted ring outfit, the most expensive ever made. His shoes and shorts were adorned with reportedly 380 carats blinged all over and a “W” on it standing for “Win.” He also had the artwork of the Monopoly Man along the side.
Tyson made his epic return to the ring, walking out to "We Don't Give a F---" by Jadakiss, DMX, and Styles P. With LFGO on this sleeveless shirt, Tyson walked down to the ring with the crowd behind him.
The match was a disappointment, from Netflix buffering all night to struggling to keep the feed consistently live. This is a black eye for the streaming brand, which is expected to get into more live sports, including streaming WWE’s Monday Night Raw in January 2025 and the NFL beginning in the 2024-2025 season.
Paul defeated Tyson by unanimous decision in an eight-round heavyweight match. All three judges scored the fight for Paul, 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73.
Tyson ran out of gas early on in the fight, with the commentary team constantly commenting on how they didn’t like how the boxing legend’s legs looked. The 31-year age gap between the two fighters was apparent. “Iron Mike” waited for Paul to come at him, and when he did, Tyson couldn’t handle the flurry of punches that YouTuber threw.
Tyson got a few good swings in the fight, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback win that fans were hoping for, which led to boos filling the home of the Dallas Cowboys.
“I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself,” said Tyson after the fight. “I’m not one of those guys that looks to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do.”
Tyson looked rough in the ring; he didn’t look anything like himself, and also being close to 60 years old doesn’t help. It was clear that Tyson trained extensively for this fight, showing flashes early, but his gas tank emptied early on. The legend lost three of his last four fights before he retired in 2005 and only won just five of his last 12 before Friday night’s battle with Paul. Tyson’s loss will go on his professional record, lowering his career mark to 50-7.
Paul made roughly $40 million for the fight; whole Tyson took home $20 million.
With Paul improving to 11-1, he didn’t call out any new opponents; however, the announce team speculated that he would fight Canelo Alvarez, who is arguably the biggest name in the sport right now.
