On Friday, November 15th, 2024, legendary boxer Mike Tyson fought newcomer and YouTuber Jake Paul. Mike Tyson was 58 years old while Jake Paul was 28 when this fight took place. Due to the age difference, the event had some special rules. For example, each round was only 2 minutes. The fight was streamed on Netflix for the whole world to watch with over 108 million people watching the event. Netflix announced this was the “Most streamed global sporting event ever, and marked a milestone in sports broadcasting.” The majority of people were rooting for Mike Tyson to win. However, Jake Paul defeated Tyson by unanimous decision after the full eight rounds were fought.
In the prime of his boxing career, Mike Tyson was unbeatable. He was the youngest heavyweight champion in the world at 22 years old and was titled the “Knockout King” as he knocked out most of his opponents, with one challenger knocked out in the first 9 seconds of round 1. Jake Paul recently fought an old man but had they both been the same age, Mike Tyson more than likely would have knocked out Jake Paul In the first round.
The fight took place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, U.S. The promoters didn’t release how much exactly Mike Tyson earned from this fight but sources such as DraftKings and Network estimated that Mike Tyson made around 20 million dollars from this Boxing match. Many people were saying that this fight should have never happened, but many people paid thousands of dollars to watch it.
In an interview with Devin Noriega, he said, “The fight was unfair because of the age difference, and Mike Tyson was overweight and out of shape.” Moreover, Noriega stated that he was disappointed when Tyson lost the match and that Jake Paul is a cocky person. Noriega added again that Mike Tyson agreed to fight Jake Paul for the Money. He thinks that the fight was “coordinated ahead of time and each boxer knew what they were going to do.”
In an interview with Charlie Tonda, he said that he was rooting for Mike Tyson to win this boxing match and how he thought that the match wasn’t fair because, “A 28-year-old man in the prime of his life should never have been fighting against a 58-year-old man after his fighting career was over.” He adds, “The fight was “disappointing” because they didn’t go full force.
This boxing match impacted the sport of boxing because it was one of the most watched fights on TV, and broadcasted on Netflix where millions of people watched. This fight also highlighted the powers of modern celebrities in sports. This was an opportunity for Mike Tyson to share his experience in boxing, and have a last moment in the ring boxing. For Jake Paul, it was another step for him, and this meant a lot to him because he could say that he defeated World star Mike Tyson. Jake Paul publicly announced, “I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone who didn’t need to be hurt,” Jake Paul admitted after the fight. Mike Tyson reportedly earned $20 million, while Jake Paul earned $40 million.
