Social media star Jake Paul defeated legendary boxer Mike Tyson via unanimous decision late Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in one of the most improbable match-ups in the sport’s history.
All three judges ruled the fight in favour of Paul, with scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.
The win improves Paul’s professional record to 11-1 while dropping Tyson to 50-7.
“He’s exactly what I thought, one of the greatest to ever do it,” Paul said after the fight.
Tyson was asked if he was officially done boxing. He said he wasn’t sure.
“I don’t think so,” Tyson said on the broadcast. “Maybe the brother (Logan Paul).”
Paul, 27, a social media star with more than 27 million Instagram followers and nearly 21 million YouTube subscribers, cruised in the bout.
After a first round that saw Tyson aggressive, his age caught up to him. Tyson appeared slow for most of the fight and barely landed any significant punches.
His offensive output dropped considerably from the mid-rounds on. The much younger Paul peppered his opponent with jabs and hooks throughout the bout while taking little damage.
Paul was asked after the fight who he wants next.
“Anyone I want,” Paul said. “Everyone is next on the list.”
Paul made his professional debut in 2020. He has wins that include former UFC stars Ben Askren, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, Nate Diaz and Mike Perry.
His lone loss is a split decision last year against boxer Tommy Fury, the half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Tyson, 58, is known as one of the best- and most intimidating- boxers ever. He opened his professional career with 19 straight finishes, 12 of which came in the first round.
He later knocked out Trevor Berbick at the age of 20 to become the youngest heavyweight champion ever.
Tyson reigned over the division from 1987 to 1990, claiming and retaining the WBA, WBC, and IBF belts en route to a 37-0 start.
His first career loss was a 10th-round knockout defeat to Buster Douglas in 1990 in what is considered the greatest upset in boxing history.
Tyson returned to the ring 20 times since that defeat, going 13-5 with two “no contests.” He has not competed since losing to Kevin McBride in 2005. He was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2011.
In the co-main event, Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano via unanimous decision (95-94 on all three judges cards). The bout, a rematch from their epic first meeting, was another instant classic that saw 324 landed punches.
Though the card had great fights throughout, fans online complained about constant buffering issues for the stream. (NBC)
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