Jake Paul cruised to a straightforward unanimous decision victory over Mike Tyson in a hugely disappointing spectacle in Texas on Friday night.
‘The Problem Child’ eased to the most comfortable of points wins at AT&T Stadium with scores of 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 following a one-sided contest screened live on Netflix that had been one of the most-talked-about and likely most-watched of the century as it broke the record for the biggest US boxing gate ever outside of Las Vegas, yet proved a thoroughly lacklustre affair given the total ineffectiveness of the 58-year-old Tyson against an opponent 31 years his junior.
Fighting professionally for the first time in almost two decades, former undisputed heavyweight world champion Tyson landed just 18 total punches - compared to Paul’s 78 - on the YouTuber-turned-pugilist throughout the course of eight tough two-minute rounds that only served to partially vindicate the staunch critics who insisted that such a fight should never have been permitted to happen in the first place.
Frustrated fans intermittently booed during and after the tame main event, which saw Paul - making his heavyweight debut - seem reluctant to embarrass and humiliate a boxing icon as he failed to deliver the knockout he had promised.
Tyson - who created headlines at Thursday’s feisty weigh-in by slapping Paul in the face after claiming that he had stood on his foot during a final face-off - attempted to start the contest fast as he chased Paul around the ring early, but looked tired and sported a brace on his knee as his lack of movement quickly became ominous.
He tried and failed to pin down the much faster and more sprightly Paul, who responded with a couple of sharp right hands as many of the 70,000-plus crowd at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys registered their displeasure at the repeated early clinching.
Paul was utilising his jab well and trying to set up his trademark overhand right that had led to the bulk of his seven knockouts to date, beginning to inflict repeated punishment on Tyson, who was continually biting down on his glove as he took some powerful hooks but did manage to rattle home one crisp counter down the middle.
Attempts from Tyson to rally at the start of the third round proved short-lived and Paul was completely untroubled thereafter, landing some more eye-catching shots and coasting to victory on the judges’ scorecards to move to 11-1 and inflict on Tyson a seventh defeat that counts on his professional record.
In Friday’s high-profile co-main event, Katie Taylor retained her undisputed light-welterweight titles with a hugely controversial unanimous decision win in an epic rematch with unified featherweight champion Amanda Serrano, who suffered a terrible cut above her eye during the course of an enthralling battle but was able to continue to the final bell.
It was another highly contentious decision win for Taylor - who had a point deducted for repeated use of the head - to follow her initial victory over the same opponent in an unforgettable showdown in Madison Square Garden back in April 2022, with two legendary fighters once again treating fans to an incredible contest that will live long in the memory.
However, the post-fight mood was notably sour after Serrano and her team accused Taylor of deliberately headbutting her throughout the bout as they lamented the final result.
Elsewhere in Dallas, Mario Barrios retained his WBC welterweight title for the first time after a gruelling and bloody 12-round war with Mexican-American rival Abel Ramos was ruled a split draw.
India’s Neeraj Goyat showboated his way to a straightforward decision victory over Brazilian former YouTuber Whindersson Nunes, while Shadasia Green edged out Canada’s Melinda Watpool to claim the vacant women’s WBO super-middleweight title.
A low-key Lucas Bahdi outpointed late replacement opponent Armando Casamonica, while Bruce ‘Shu Shu’ Carrington opened the night with a dominant win over Australia’s Dana Coolwell.
