After weeks of buzz surrounding the alleged feud between boxers Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, the two were finally given the opportunity to settle things out in the ring. On the evening of November 15, in Dallas, Texas, Tyson broke his 19-year retirement from being “the baddest man on the planet” to take on Paul, an up-and-coming boxer with a lot to prove. Both men are notably controversial figures, with Netflix stating that this fight drew the largest streaming of a sporting event in history, with 108 million viewers watching. Paul, aged 27, appears to be a jack of all trades, with a career that spans from Disney channel actor to viral Youtuber, and most recently, professional boxer. His interest in boxing began in 2018, with his first professional match taking place in 2020. Meanwhile, Tyson, aged 58, has long been dubbed the undisputed heavyweight GOAT, after a 20-year long career, during which he had won 12 world titles, with an impressive 50–6 overall fight record. He notoriously bit the ear off of his opponent Evander Holifield in 1997, which should tell you that Tyson does not play around. However, as he has been out of the ring for so long, fans wondered if he would have the stamina to compete with a man in his prime, even if Paul was comparatively new to boxing.
Tensions were high between the fighters after the ceremonial weigh-in the day before the fight, during which Paul allegedly stepped on Tyson’s toe, who subsequently slapped him across the face. About this altercation, Paul said, “I’m so happy he did that. This makes it real, makes it personal. And when I beat his ass in a couple of moments here, no one can say anything.” This fight followed standard boxing rules, with two exceptions: the use of 14-ounce gloves instead of 10-ounce, and the rounds being shortened from three minutes to two minutes in length. The men fought for eight rounds, and the fight was concluded without any knockouts, with Paul being declared the winner.
Yet, fans reportedly left the arena disappointed after watching an underwhelming fight that appeared performative in nature, leaving some to question if it had been staged. The 70,000-person crowd erupted into booing half-way through the fight, with many requesting refunds and citing “elder-abuse.” These claims of staging are backed up by comments made by Paul immediately after the match-up, which indicate that he did not perform to the best of his ability. The 27-year-old had initially predicted a round four or five knockout, but when asked whether or not he eased up on Tyson after the third round, Paul said, “Yeah, definitely. Definitely a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.” Furthermore, this narrative was not deterred by the winnings taken home by each fighter, as there was quite a lot of money on the line for both men. As the victor, Paul walked away with an alleged $40 million, while Tyson pocketed $20 million. The former quote by Paul also leaves him vulnerable to lawsuits from sports betters, who had placed money on the notion that Paul would knock Tyson out.
While the Tyson-Paul fight may have lacked substance, the real highlight of the night was the opening fight between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, a 10-round nail-biter, where Taylor was ultimately declared the winner. The livestream of this event brought in 74 million viewers, which according to Netflix, makes it the most viewed female sporting event in history. Boxer Serrano explained just how incredible this opportunity was for both media coverage and equal pay for female athletes. “Now people who’ve never seen boxing before, never knew women fight, know women can fight, […] And he brings in the money. My biggest payday was my first fight on his undercard, and it’s just gotten bigger since then.” Despite Paul’s controversial media presence, he has been a strong advocate for the fair treatment of women’s boxing.
This boxing match has also resulted in legal repercussions for Netflix, who were in charge of streaming the event. The company is under fire as a result of the reported poor-quality video, which lagged and buffered throughout the full five-hour long stream. They are currently subjected to at least two filed class action lawsuits regarding the fight.
