Jake Paul cruised past Mike Tyson in their highly anticipated boxing match Friday night, winning via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Paul handled Tyson with ease in what was an extremely forgettable fight between the YouTube star turned prizefighter and the former heavyweight champion. Paul appeared to carry Tyson to the scorecards and was booed after the fight.
Tyson stepped into the ring for the first time since 2020 and competed in his first pro bout in 19 years.
“He’s the greatest to ever do it,” Paul said of Tyson in his postfight interview. “I’m inspired by him. This man is an icon. It’s just an honor to be able to fight him. It was really tough like I expected it to be.”
Paul outlanded Tyson 78-18 in total punches and 47-13 in power punches, controlling the action from start to finish. Tyson connected with a few shots, but he was inactive for much of the fight and appeared to have difficulty moving around.
Paul-Tyson was sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation as a professional bout despite Paul, 27, being more than three decades younger than Tyson, 58. It was the first live combat sports event to stream live on Netflix. (Widespread streaming issues seemed to overshadow what could’ve been a monumental night for the future of the broadcasting landscape.)
Though Paul-Tyson was a pro bout, there were a couple of modifications to the rule set. The fight consisted of eight two-minute rounds (instead of the usual three minutes per round), and Paul and Tyson wore 14-ounce gloves (instead of the typical 12-ounce gloves).
The matchup was originally scheduled to take place in July, but Tyson was forced to withdraw after suffering an ulcer flare-up on a flight.
Tyson said he was “happy” with the outcome of the fight and wasn’t surprised it went the distance.
“I came to fight,” Tyson said. “I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, just to myself.”
Tyson said he wasn’t sure if he’ll step into the ring again but didn’t rule out the possibility. Tyson said he could “maybe” take on Paul’s older brother Logan, who famously fought Floyd Mayweather in a 2021 exhibition bout. Logan, who was in the ring to celebrate Jake’s victory, was confident he could beat Tyson.
Paul said he tried to hurt Tyson “a little bit” throughout the fight but was “scared that he was gonna hurt me.”
“I did my best,” Paul said.
With the victory, Paul’s pro record improves to 11-1 with seven knockouts. He’s now riding a five-fight winning streak and hasn’t lost since facing Tommy Fury in February 2023. The Ohio native’s last three wins before Friday came via knockout.
Tyson falls to a career 50-7-2 with the defeat to Paul. The former heavyweight champion squared off with Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout in November 2020 but hadn’t competed professionally since a TKO loss to Kevin McBride in 2005.
Paul said he can fight “anyone” he wants next after putting on “the biggest event” with Tyson and refused to make a specific call-out. However, Paul did address a potential matchup against unified super middleweight champion Canelo Álvarez.
“We crashed (Netflix),” Paul said. “Everyone is next on the list. … Canelo needs me, so I’m not gonna even try to call him out. He knows he needs the payday, so he knows where the money man is at.”
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