Jake Paul breaks silence on criticism after beating Mike Tyson in controversial fight
Jake Paul defended his performance against Mike Tyson, addressing the criticism surrounding the fight.
The fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson generated significant anticipation, but the result fell short of the expectations of many viewers. The match, which unfolded at a slow pace with little excitement, faced criticism for its lack of action.
Despite the backlash, Jake Paul expressed satisfaction with his performance. He admitted to intentionally slowing the pace of the fight to avoid causing harm to Tyson, who appeared visibly fatigued in the later rounds.
“Definitely a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” Paul said during his post-fight press conference. Tyson, however, did not speak to the media.
“I tried to give the best fight I possibly could, but when someone’s just surviving in the ring, it’s hard to make it exciting. I couldn’t really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever,“ Paul added.
Paul was indifferent to the criticism he received on social media, stating: “I don’t care what people have to say. They’re always going to have something to say. It is what it is.”
Paul controlled most of the fight, earning a unanimous decision victory with judges scoring the bout 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73. With this result, Paul becomes the seventh boxer to defeat the Hall of Famer.
The event promoters also defended the fight. Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions, emphasized the unique circumstances of the matchup: “The only way people would have been happy is if Jake lost. People would’ve been like, ‘Oh, what a great fight! Mike’s a legend!’ If he knocked out Mike Tyson, it would have been rigged. It went eight rounds, and people say, ‘Mike wasn’t trying. The fight wasn’t good enough.’ It was an unbelievable display between a 58-year-old legend and a 27-year-old relatively young boxer. And [Paul] outboxed Mike Tyson like he said he was gonna do.”
While the fight faced criticism, it managed to attract a large audience and generated significant revenue. Paul now holds an 11-1 record in his career, while Tyson’s record falls to 50-7. However, the final result left a bittersweet taste for many boxing fans, who expected more action from such a high-profile matchup.
