Mike Tyson had absolutely no power at all in worst career defeat
Tyson returned from two decades out of action to the professional prizefighting ring to face YouTuber and influencer boxer Jake Paul in Texas. As World Boxing News predicted many times during the build-up, Tyson had little to offer the fight from start to finish.
A few early signs of the old Tyson evaporated seconds into the bout. When Paul sensed nothing was coming back at him, the 27-year-old eased off to get Tyson over the line.
Considering the outlay, payments, and ticket prices, the headliner was a damp squib, saved only by the co-main event.
After pocketing a reported $40 million for his opportunism, Paul was asked if Hall of Famer Tyson had any ‘power at all.’ He answered, ‘No,’ in what could have been a mistake on his part.
Tyson struggled to get going through no fault of his own, considering his age, in whats been described as his worst loss despite going the distance in defeat for the first time in his career.
Paul also admitted he carried the former undisputed heavyweight champion in another case of foot in mouth.
Whether he was phased by Tyson’s ring walk, which usually sets the boxing legend apart from his opponents, Paul said, “I was just so prepared. I’ve gone through the moment so many times in my head, including meditation and stuff like that, so it didn’t phase me. I just felt at home, just on the path of riding my destiny.
“When you’re really close to God and on the path of your destiny, you just feel everything so much more. You know what’s going to happen ahead of time.”
The big question now is if Paul will be accepted as a fighter. In his 12 fights, the ex-Disney child actor has fought only one recognized boxer who has since become an influencer boxer himself, Tommy Fury. He lost that fight.
Despite the facts, Paul says he’s ‘retired from influencer boxing’ in what many in the sport will see as another attempt to justify his opportunistic career.
“I think so [people need to accept me], but people just love to hate me. I’m easy to hate. I intentionally say things to make people hate me. I play the heel, and I feed into that. That’s just what I like to do, and that’s what entertainment is.
“At the end of the day, I started as a 17-year-old in Los Angeles in the entertainment business. But I’ve been in this sport for four and a half years and have been so active doing every event, taking any fight possible. So if people want to see more of this challenge or fight this person, whatever it is, my response to them is to give him a couple more months.
“I’m going to accomplish more things in just a matter of months. I plan on doing everything in this sport that there is to be done.”
Paul has the backing of at least two sanctioning body leaders, Gilberto Mendoza [WBA President] and Mauricio Sulaiman [WBC], the latter of whom commented after the event.
“Jake Paul is a young man whom I personally like. He is very famous and very rich, but he takes boxing with all the responsibility that this sport deserves. He trains with dedication and dreams of one day becoming a champion.
“He has his detractors, just like everyone who achieves fame. If one day he decides to make a serious career in boxing and search for the glory of becoming a champion, I say, without a doubt, that he has the possibility to improve greatly.
“Paul respected Tyson, and in the end, it was what it was. It was a great event seen by humanity, of great entertainment around sports in a world full of bad news, natural disasters, wars, anxiety, and crises of all kinds.”
Mendoza went one further in his response to the fight, stating he’d be willing to sanction Paul for a title fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
