Jake Paul has beaten the legendary Mike Tyson via unanimous decision on November 15, Friday in the main event of the blockbuster NetFlix event in Dallas, Texas. Paul defeated Iron Mike as he made a stellar comeback after losing the first 2 rounds to the legendary boxer. The unofficial scorecard had shown that the fight belonged to Paul with a score of 78-74.
Tyson was making a return to the ring after a 19-year hiatus, while Paul had a record of 10-1 coming to the fight. The bout was initially set for June this year, before an ulcer flare up for Tyson forced the event to be postponed. There was tension before the match as Tyson proceeded to slap Paul during the weigh-ins and even proclaimed he wouldn't lose. On the day of the bout, both men would proudly proclaim that they would win, with Paul predicting a knockout. Tyson, on the other hand, simply said 'a vicious win.'
Paul would be tested in the initial rounds, but fatigue and age caught up to Tyson in the end.
The walk-ins for both men kind of showed their personalities heading into the fight. While Jake Paul remained in his over-the-top persona, Mike Tyson made a very somber entrance, walking to the ring by himself. The crowd in Texas would make their feelings known early on as they heavily booed the Problem Child and cheered Iron Mike.
Tyson started on the front foot, and he had Paul on the ropes early on and landed some strikes in. The Problem Child would slowly come into the fight towards the end as he started to find his rhythm. But the round went to Tyson as the judges gave him a score of 10-9.
Paul and Tyson were feeling each other out in the second one, with the Problem Child keeping his guard down mostly and inviting the boxing legend to engage in a war with him. Tyson would win the round 10-9.
Iron Mike would explode out of his corner in round three but Paul would quickly take charge. A triple jab from Paul rocked Tyson badly and the legend was on the ropes for the remainder of the round. Paul took the round 10-9 as the scoreline read 29-28 in favour of Tyson heading into Round 4.
Tyson's legs started to show fatigue and he started to be less mobile, allowing Paul to dictate terms in Round 4. Paul would tie things up by taking Round 4. A left hook from Tyson rocked Paul early in Round 5, but the Problem Child was able to land a few good body shots towards the end. Paul would take the lead 48-47 as the crowd started getting more and more behind Tyson.
Paul was delivering some nice combos in to keep controlling the fight according to his terms, meaning that Iron Mike needed to win big in the last 2 as the score was 58-56. The former world champion would show some life early on, but once again, the lack of energy in his legs was catching up to him. As Tyson returned to his corner, the legend was clearly exhausted as we head into the final round.
Paul would land a few more shots on the tired Tyson and both men shared a great moment in the end. According to rumour mills, Paul will earn USD 40 million for Friday’s event while Tyson is set to make USD 20 million.
The rest of the card surely had some great bouts with the co-main event living up to the hype. India's Neeraj Goyat scored a big win over Whindersson Nunes, despite the fans slamming the bout in the end. It seemed like a mismatch in the end as Goyat got the win easily. M
Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos delivered an absolute war for the WBC Welterweight title and the result was that the champion retained the crown through a split draw. The Super Lightweight title match was probably the Match Of The Night and one of the best this year.
The champion Katie Taylor found herself on the ropes early as Amanda Serrano was on the offence from the get-go. However, there were a few stoppages in between as a few headbutts were landed during the fight by Taylor, which ultimately cost her a point.
Both women went to war and put on a clinic but it was Taylor who escaped with the title in the end, much to the shock of fans in the stadium.
Heavyweight: Jake Paul def. Mike Tyson via UD
Super Lightweight: Katie Taylor def. Amanda Serrano via UD
Welterweight: Mario Barrios retains WBC title with split draw with Abel Ramos
Super Middleweight: Neeraj Goyat def. Whindersson Nunes via UD
