Jake Paul had gone from telling his fans that ‘Mike Tyson must die’ after he was slapped by the legendary heavyweight to then insisting that the two have been close for a long time after they fought in the ring the following night.
Paul defeated Tyson in a bout that had very little action on Netflix’s one-off card, with neither men landing anything significant and the 31-year age discrepency showeing almost immediately in the ring.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer won the final six rounds on all three of the judges scorecards with fans were left hoping to see more from both fighters who seemingly did not take many risks. Paul secured the win on points, even bowing to Tyson before the final bell in a showing of respect – a stark contrast from what fans had seen just 24 hours previous.
Paul and Tyson‘s tempers flared at the weigh-in, having been respectful with each other throughout the pre-fight process. However, the legendary heavyweight slapped the 27-year-old and reacted angrily after Paul had accidentally stood on Tyson’s foot.
Paul stated that the slap had made the fight “personal” and declared Tyson “must die” while screaming into the microphone. Speaking to host Ariel Helwani, he said of the slap: “I didn’t even feel it, he’s angry. He’s an angry little elf and he’s getting knocked the —- out. I’m ——- knocking him out. He hits like a —–. It’s personal now; he must die.”
But speaking immediately after the fight, Paul admitted that Tyson has ‘always had his back’ while speaking of admiration of his opponent. He said: “Let’s give it up for Mike. He is the GOAT, I am inspired by him. He is an icon… It was really tough like I expected it to be. This guy has always had my back. I love him, his family and his coaches. It is an honor to be in the ring with all of them.”
Jake Paul had screamed that his fight with Tyson had been personal and that he’d —- him up (
Image:
Getty)
Despite scoring his victory over one of the greatest boxers of all-time though, the win will not be looked back on as an accomplishment by many – with fans boo’ing inside the AT&T Stadium due to a lack of action in the latter rounds.
After the first two rounds, it was clear to see that the 58-year-old Tyson had little energy left to pose as a serious threat to Paul – with limited offensive output after landing just 18 jabs in the entire bout.
Paul had looked for opportunities to land a big shot, but had not been active enough with his own corner criticizing him going into the final two rounds – hoping to see him secure a knockout. But that never came, with Paul going on to win comfortably on the judges scorecards with the two being respectful with each other after the fight.
