Outcome of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight
Photo from Netflix.
Truth Frazier
The fight between YouTube star and now professional boxer Jake Paul and professional heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson was officially announced to be streamed on Netflix in March of 2024. The date of streaming and the fight itself was originally July 20 but got pushed back due to Tyson’s injury, the final fight date being the 15th of this month. The outcome of the fight has been gaining an incredible amount of popularity and controversy throughout the media. Fans, spectators, and journalists were quick to share their perspectives on what happened.
As for the factual information and official result of the fight, Paul took the win. The fighter’s victory was decided by unanimous decision after eight rounds of easy-paced fighting. The contact and combat itself did not include many highlights besides the few punches that were landed throughout the fight, the rounds being called “boring” and “trash” by many fans and watchers.
Both of the fighters themselves have put out statements since the night of the fight, giving insight on their personal views of what happened. Paul has been posting more than Tyson ever since the fight, an increasingly higher amount of coverage done on Paul’s words compared to what Tyson has to say. Although it has been rumored that Paul has been mocking and taunting Tyson over the internet, his tweets on X (formerly Twitter) show differently. He responded to a tweet from Piers Morgan, American broadcaster, accusing him of mocking Tyson the day after the fight. The post reads, “Who mocked him? He’s a ****ing beast. All respect to the Baddest Ever. It was an honor to share the ring with him.”
This, along with other tweets following the face-off and fight, shows that Paul, at least to the face of the public, did not make efforts to deride his opponent after the fight. Another tweet after the face-off prior to the match in which Paul got slapped by Tyson reads, “This is a pinch me moment. I got slapped by Tyson,” following a blushing emoji. This was seen as making fun of his opponent or an act of teasing by many people, the comments filled with what the ‘reality’ was regarding the reason why Tyson slapped Paul. The video posted multiple times in the replies shows Paul bear crawling up to Tyson and then stepping on his feet; many people and Tyson, obviously, took this as an act of disrespect.
Concerning Tyson’s words, he only put out one statement after the fight that shows his feelings on what is most likely his last fight and loss of his career. The caption to his Instagram post reads, “This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in ring one last time. I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won. To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you.” The difference between the two fighters’ words give more than enough insight on who they are as people and how the rest of their career is projected as public figures.
The press and fans nearly have one uniform perspective on the fight, and that is it was just plain boring. Many already-released articles and posts from fans show that the fight was not as entertaining as expected in the eyes of the 50 million families that tuned in to watch. To most people, the fight itself was already unfair, and it was unrealistic to expect the fight to have a true outcome. Fans have found what is allegedly the ‘script’ to the fight, and people aren’t surprised or shocked. It’s known that some huge public sports events are scripted, and there is always a possibility that the document shared across the internet could be fake, but fans across the country are just disappointed. The headline to USA Today’s article reads, “Tyson didn’t lose to an elite boxer in Paul. He lost because he’s 58.” Multiple other news pages and websites’ articles on the fight report that fans and viewers were ‘disgusted’ and reacted in dismay after the result of the fight and the combat itself.
Generally, the event wasn’t what some people expected it to be. Although there are many different views on the fight and what affected its outcome, there is no doubt that it was a historic event for both Tyson’s and Paul’s career.
