It is hard to talk about boxing after digesting the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Not because the former was not one of the best fighters in history, nor because the latter is starting to build an image beyond being just a youtuber turned fighter. But because what was seen in the ring was a "pantomime" according to Jero García, trainer and former boxer.
The pantomime began with Jake Paul entering the AT&T Stadium in Texas in a customized Chevy alongside his brother and the Southeast Asian dove, which he gifted to Mike Tyson and was rejected as a pet. The Ohio native claimed it cost him "thousands of dollars". An insignificant amount considering the 40 million he earned early Saturday morning after defeating the Brooklyn native by unanimous decision. Nearly 18 million dollars were collected in ticket sales alone, one of the highest for a boxing event in history. He also entered the ring to the tune of Phil Collins' song In the Air Tonight, which plays during the cameo of the former world champion in the comedy The Hangover. Paul even allowed himself to mimic Tyson's movements in the movie.
It was then sad to see the "baddest man on the planet" appearing alone towards the ring, limping, with a knee brace on his right leg after showing his backside in the pre-fight interview. This lack of mobility weighed him down throughout the fight, if one can call it a fight. "It's almost indecent to let someone box at 58 years old," explains Jaime Ugarte, a boxing journalist.
"They came out to hit each other," says García, although Ugarte himself believes there was an implicit agreement of non-aggression to "preserve some dignity for the champion". The numbers don't lie: Paul threw three times as many punches as Tyson, 278 to 97, landing 78 compared to Brooklyn's 18. The youtuber also had a 10-point advantage in accuracy, 28% vs. 18%. Tyson's passive stance, watching the rounds go by without attempting to close the distance with the Ohio native, was a sad sight for someone who calls himself a "natural born killer". His constant glove biting didn't help either, which he justified: "I have a habit of biting my gloves, I have a fixation with biting," he said after the match, with a half-smile reminiscent of the incident with Holyfield the year Jake Paul was born, 1997.
Hopes of a real contest after the first two rounds quickly faded, and the feeling at the end of the fight was that Jake Paul "showed mercy" to Tyson, according to experts. "In the end, Jake Paul wanted to protect the legend," explains Jero. Just look at the final 10 seconds of the fight, which the youtuber used to bow to Tyson, leaving him puzzled, unsure whether to greet him or keep dancing until the end of the agreed-upon 16 minutes.
"I just tried to hurt him a little, but I was afraid of hurting him. Yes, I slowed down in the final rounds because I wanted to entertain the audience and didn't want to harm someone who didn't need to be hurt," admitted Paul after the fight, despite saying on the canvas that he tried to hurt him but was afraid of being hurt himself.
Outrage grew after the fight, especially on social media, where several celebrities like Earvin Magic Johnson criticized the shameful spectacle. "How sad. I turned off the TV because I couldn't watch it anymore. It's sad to see Mike Tyson like this because I went to all of his fights. This fight tonight wasn't very good for boxing," expressed the former Lakers player.
"Comparisons are odious," says Jero García about what happened in the Tyson vs. Paul event. For experts, the real fight was the one between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, where the super lightweight belts were on the line. "The good thing about that circus is that it allowed the women to earn the biggest purse in history," García adds. It is said that both women earned six million for a match that the Irishwoman won on points despite the controversial headbutt that opened a cut on the Puerto Rican's eyebrow.
From a real contest to a show. A show that Tyson threatened to repeat despite suffering his seventh defeat, this time against Jake's own brother, Logan. On the other hand, the Ohio native now wants to challenge Canelo Álvarez. "We broke Netflix, the biggest fight in the US, 20 million dollars. Everyone is on the list, I'm not going to name names... Canelo needs me more than I need him. He wants the money, so he knows where to find it," Paul taunted the Mexican boxer after his eleventh victory.