Photo caption: Referee Mark Calo-oy watches US retired pro-boxer Mike Tyson (R) and US YouTuber/boxer Jake Paul (L) fight during the heavyweight boxing bout at The Pavilion at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, November 15, 2024. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)
Mike Tyson’s controversial return to boxing ended in a one-sided defeat on Friday, with Youtuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul cruising to victory by unanimous decision against the heavyweight icon in Texas.
Tyson, 58, barely landed a punch during the eight-round bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, with Paul winning by big margins on all three cards — 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.
Paul, 27, used his superior speed and movement to dominate the ageing Tyson with ease, and had the former undisputed heavyweight champion in trouble after landing a flurry of punches in the third round.
Yet the younger fighter was unable to land the knockout blow he had promised to deliver during Thursday’s ill-tempered weigh-in, where Tyson slapped him across the face.
Tyson, however, looked every bit of his 58 years, managing to land only a handful of meaningful punches during the fight.
Final statistics showed Tyson connected with just 18 of 97 punches thrown while Paul threw some 278 punches and landed 78 of them.
As the final seconds of the eighth round counted down, Paul could even afford to bow in respect to Tyson before the bell sounded.
====== AFP ======
