From a marketing standpoint, Friday night’s bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was a massive success, with the event drawing a colossal viewing audience on streaming giants Netflix.
But, while the bean counters will be more than happy with the financial and marketing success of the event, sports fans will have been left disappointed and, possibly, a little bit sad after watching the headline bout at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
It wasn’t unexpected. Twenty-seven-year-old Jake Paul easily handled 58-year-old Mike Tyson over the eight two-minute-round duration to win a lop-sided unanimous decision. But, as a sporting contest, it was over from the end of the first round.
Despite getting himself into remarkable fighting shape, Tyson simply could not contend with the two opponents he had to battle on Friday night, as he lost to both Paul and Father Time.
The peek-a-boo style was still there, and there were moments where we saw that trademark bob and weave that made him such an elusive target during his prime years. But when it came to the two things that really mattered – his hands and his feet – the magic had sadly gone.
After looking lively in the opening round, Tyson reverted to a static, stuck-in-the-mud target that allowed Paul to sit back at range and take pot-shots against a man who could do little more than stay shelled up.
The bigger-than-usual gloves were a godsend for Tyson as he used them smartly to protect his 58-year-old chin against Paul, whose boxing may not be elite-level refined, but can nonetheless crack a decent punch. Despite landing a few solid shots on the former undisputed heavyweight champ, Paul never really got Tyson close to being stopped.
However, that’s not to directly criticise Paul. From about the fifth round onwards, it looked like he changed his approach and reverted to shot selection and energy conservation, rather than loading up and trying to knock him out. In short, it looked like Paul might have been taking it a little easy on Tyson in the closing rounds.
The respect between the pair was evident in the final seconds of the fight as Paul stopped fighting and bowed to Tyson before the two embraced as time expired at the end of the bout.
There was no suspense over the result, with the judges scoring the fight to Paul, 80-72, 79-73, 79-73.
The win won’t advance Paul’s boxing career in terms of his goals of eventually becoming a world champion, but it shows how he and his team can put on a huge show.
