Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s fight has come under fire from a boxer who was in the corner of a fighter who competed on the undercard.
Tyson, 58, could not roll back the years as Paul, 27, eased to a convincing victory over the former heavyweight world champion despite his coach admitting that he thought that he could win the contest.
Around 70,000 fans packed into the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, Texas, with some even paying up to $2m to get a ringside ticket.
Paul was handed a unanimous decision points victory by the three judges who scored the contest 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.
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Several high-profile names from the combat sports world, including Dana White and Eddie Hearn, gave their expert opinion on the bout, with White previously voicing his concerns about Tyson’s health.
However, he came through unscathed after going the full scheduled eight rounds.
Both fighters were paid handsomely for their efforts, but not everyone was entirely convinced by the authenticity of the event.
Fans accused Paul’s girlfriend, Jutta Lerdam, of knowing the result before she quickly changed her mind ahead of the fight.
But there is nothing to suggest this is actually the case.
Speaking after the fight, a member of Lucas Bahdi’s team – an undercard fighter – Sara Bailey, who is the women’s WBA world lightweight champion, admitted that she thought the fight was “fixed”, according to ES NEWS [via Metro].
“I think he [Paul] took it easy,” Bahdi added.
Again, this is Bailey and Bahdi’s opinion, and there is no evidence to suggest this is accurate.
Paul himself conceded that he did take his foot off of the gas when he saw Tyson tiring at several points during the fight.
“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,” said Paul.
“I couldn’t really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever.
“I don’t care what people have to say. They’re always going to have something to say. It is what it is.”
Although this may not have been exactly what fans wanted, from Tyson’s perspective, Paul was relatively respectful in the ring and even made a gesture of respect in the eighth round of the contest by bowing to Tyson, who accepted by tapping Paul’s glove.
Paul has already set his sights on a potential boxing and MMA crossover fight with Conor McGregor.
As for Tyson, he called out Logan Paul – older brother Jake – but time will tell whether this was a serious remark.