Social media star Jake Paul defeated boxing legend Mike Tyson in a highly anticipated fight. There is an age difference of over three decades between the two contenders.
The Friday night win for the YouTuber-turned-pro-boxer was streamed on Netflix from the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Texas.
Paul defeated Tyson by a unanimous decision after the two fighters went eight full rounds, with each round two minutes.
Fight night for the 58-year-old Tyson and 27-year-old Paul came following doubts over whether it would happen at all. The fight was originally scheduled for July but was postponed after the former heavyweight champion experienced an ulcer flare-up on a plane in May.
A different kind of flare-up happened during the official weigh-in Thursday, with Tyson slapping Paul in the face. Tyson later told the New York Post that Paul had stepped on his toe when the two were toe to toe onstage.
According to DraftKings Network and other online sources, Paul is expected to earn about $40 million from the fight, while Tyson is expected to take home around $20 million.
Tyson entered professional boxing in 1985 and became the youngest heavyweight champion in history a year later. After serving time for a rape conviction in the 1990s, Tyson won the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association titles.
He retired from boxing in 2005 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011. Tyson last fought in a 2020 exhibition match against former four-division world champ Roy Jones Jr.
What Jones and Tyson said about the fight
“He like put on another 20 pounds from when I fought him, so he’s more bigger and he’s more dangerous because more size, more power, so it’s going to be a tough one for Jake to climb,” Jones told CBS News ahead of the fight.
Jake Paul, speaking on Netflix: “Mike Tyson, it’s such an honor. Let’s give it up for Mike, the greatest to ever do it. We wouldn’t be here without him today with him, this man is an icon. It’s just an honor to be able to fight him. It was [a] really tough fight. I expected it to be.”
After his win, Paul said: “He was exactly what I thought. One of the greatest to ever do it. An icon.”
“I was trying to hurt him a little bit,” he added. “I was scared he was going to hurt me. I did my best.”
Mike Tyson, speaking on Netflix: “I am happy. I knew he was a good fighter. I knew he was prepared. I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I am just happy with what I can do.”
On whether he will fight again he said: “I don’t know, it depends on the situation. I don’t think so, maybe his brother [Logan].”
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