R8: Paul bows down to Tyson out of respect during the final seconds. 10-9, Paul (Overall: 79-73 Paul)
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight winner, results: Social media star beats legendary 58-year-old in sloppy affair
Tyson showed every bit of his age in the ring as he was visibly tired after just two rounds
In his first professional boxing match since 2005, Mike Tyson returned to the ring on Saturday and looked very much his 58 years of age.
In the biggest age gap between opponents in professional boxing history, 27-year-old Jake Paul appeared to take it easy on his legendary opponent and was booed by the AT&T Stadium crowd in Arlington, Texas, for doing so in a unanimous decision. Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) took home judges' scores of 80-72 and 79-71 (twice) under modified rules of eight, two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves.
The main event of the first combat sports event to air live on Netflix looked more like a sparring match or exhibition, in the end, as Paul went on to outland Tyson (50-7, 44 KOs) by a margin of 78 to 18, according to CompuBox.
"First and foremost, Mike Tyson, it's an honor," Paul said. "He's a legend and the greatest to ever do it. He's the G.O.A.T. I look up to him and am inspired by him. It was an honor being able to fight him. He's the baddest man on the planet. It was really tough like I expected it to be."
Tyson, who boxed eight rounds against Roy Jones Jr. in a 2020 exhibition and went viral for slapping Paul at Thursday's weigh-in, looked dangerous in the opening round but was unable to unleash any form of sustained offense for the rest of the fight as his legs slowed quickly despite Tyson showing a responsible defensive effort behind his high guard and head movement.
For most of the bout, Paul appeared to either be taking it easy on Tyson by jabbing to the body and only punching from long range or looked as if he was fearful of a potential Tyson counter shot. A combination from Paul in Round 3 appeared to hurt and wobble Tyson, but Paul let him off the hook.
"I was trying to hurt him a little bit [but] I was scared he was trying to hurt me," Paul said. "I did my best, I did my best."
Outside of a few single counter shots in the first three rounds, Tyson barely mounted any offense the rest of the way as he attempted just 97 punches overall in the eight rounds to 278 for Paul.
"I knew he was a good fighter and knew he was prepared," Tyson said. "I came to fight. I didn't prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I'm not one of those guys who tries to please other people, I only try to please myself.
"[Paul] is a very good fighter."
By Round 6, it was clear Paul was showing full-on mercy for his Hall-of-Fame opponent. In the waning seconds of the eighth and final round, as boos from the crowd began to pile up, Paul bowed down to Tyson out of respect and the two embraced after the final bell.
"He's exactly what I thought and one of the greatest to ever do it," Paul said. "This guy has always had my back. I love him and his family and his coaches. It was an honor to be in the ring with all of them."
Despite the largely lifeless defeat, Tyson claimed he wants to continue fighting and offered Paul's brother, WWE star and part-time boxer Logan, as a potential opponent. Paul, meanwhile, refused to call out a name for his next fight and didn't seem too interested, either, in backing up pre-fight comments about his desire to box former pound-for-pound king and Mexican icon Canelo Alvarez when prompted.
"Anyone I want," Paul said. "This is the biggest event ever, over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site. Everyone is next on the list. I'm not going to call out specific names. Canelo needs me, so I'm not going to try to call him out. He knows he wants the payday and he knows where the money fight is."
Elsewhere on the card, Katie Taylor may have scored one of the most controversial wins of the year in a decision against Amanda Serrano in the co-main event. The fight was a rematch of their classic from 2022 in which Taylor also walked away the winner, but this time was a bit more confusing as Taylor was deducted a point for constant headbutt attempts as she tried to work her way inside as well as the fact that Serrano landed significantly more punches over the course of the fight. One of the headbutts landed on Serrano and caused a gnarly cut above her right eye. The cut continued to worsen over the course of the fight to the point where the referee called for the doctor to take a look. In the end, Taylor earned the win 95-94 on all three scorecards.
CBS Sports will be with you throughout the entire way on Friday with the live results and highlights below.
Fight card, results
- Jake Paul def. Mike Tyson via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73)
- Katie Taylor (c) def. Amanda Serrano via unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94)
- Mario Barrios (c) vs. Abel Ramos ends in a split draw (114-112, 110-116, 113-113)
- Neeraj Goyat def. Whindersson Nunes via unanimous decision (59-55, 60-54, 60-54)
- Shadasia Green def. Melinda Watpool via split decision (97-93, 94-96, 96-94)
- Lucas Bahdi def. Armando Casamonica via majority decision (95-95, 96-93, 98-92)
- Bruce "Shu Shu" Carrington Jr. def. Dana Coolwell via unanimous decision (80-70, 80-70, 80-70)
Tyson vs. Paul scorecard, live coverage
Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyson | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 73 |
Paul | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 79 |
Paul gets booed after the scores were read.
SCORECARDS: 80-72, 79-73, 79-73, all for the winner by unanimous decision, Jake Paul.
We head to the scorecards after what played out as nothing more than a sparring match or exhibition.
They hug after the bell but Tyson is exhausted.
R8: Final 10 seconds and Tyson will go the distance as Paul completely let him off the hook. The crowd boos the lack of action.
R8: Paul looks now as if he's going to let Tyson survive.
R8: Short left counter hook lands for Tyson when Paul got too close. Left hook from Paul lands. Finally, he's going for the finish.
ROUND 8: Paul is jabbing softly to the body. He misses a wild right hand from too far out.
It's time for the final round.
R7: Short combination from Paul but he wasn't sitting down on the punches. Paul is letting him survive. 10-9, Paul (Overall: 69-64 Paul)
R7: Paul is allowing Tyson to survive and the crowd is silent. Big right hand hit partial for Paul and Tyson briefly wobbled.
R7: This is sad. Tyson shouldn't be in there. Paul lands another right hand but there wasn't much on it. Body shot by Paul.
ROUND 7: Counter jabs from Tyson land. Paul works the jab from the outside. Right cross hits for Paul.
Paul's corner implores him to let his hands go between rounds.
R6: Another slow round where Tyson rarely let his hands go. Paul is letting him survive. 10-9, Paul (Overall: 59-55 Paul)
R6: It's hard to tell, once again, whether Paul is showing mercy or is very aware of the power Tyson still has but really isn't using.
R6: Short combination lands for Paul. Lead right hand. Paul isn't following up on any of these landed punches, however.
ROUND 6: Paul jabs busy to the body but the pace remains slow. Paul doesn't want to get too close.
R5: Tyson back in survival mode again as fatigue sets in. Right hand hits for Paul and a body shot. Lead left hook from Paul before the bell. 10-9, Paul (Overall: 49-46 Paul)
R5: Quick jabs from Paul to the body. Lead left hook from Paul was countered by a clean right from Tyson. Paul is operating with his hands down.
ROUND 5: Lead right hand from Paul lands partial. Tyson is still moving decently. Combination lands for Paul. He's going for it here.
R4: Tyson is surviving. 10-9, Paul (Overall: 39-37 Paul)
R4: Lead left hook hits for Paul. It appears as if Paul is torn between having mercy for Tyson and still being fearful of his power.
R4: Quick jabs from Paul. Good defense from Tyson but Paul isn't necessarily throwing a lot of punches right now.
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