A58-year-old Mike Tyson failed to turn back the clock as Father Time remains undefeated.
Tyson lost a unanimous decision to the 27-year-old social media star and professional boxer Jake Paul on November 15 at the well-attended Netflix pay-per-view event at AT&T Stadium in Texas.
Despite the agonizing loss, Tyson refused to hang up his gloves for good as he openly challenged Jake Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, to be his next opponent during the post-fight interview with MMA sports journalist Ariel Helwani.
Logan Paul, who is best known for winning the WWE United States Championship in 2023, did not hold back and issued a threatening response to Tyson’s challenge.
“[Expletive], I’d kill you, Mike,” Logan Paul said.
“It’s on then,” said Tyson in a curt reply.
Spoke with @JakePaul and @MikeTyson after the fight.#PaulTyson @Netflix pic.twitter.com/S8liAwvnAq
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 16, 2024
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Only time will tell if Tyson, who no longer has the speed at his age to fight toe-to-toe inside the ring, will continue fighting in the ring or not.
But the money might be too good to refuse.
Tyson will earn an estimated $20 million payday after sluggishly fighting Jake Paul in the eight-round boxing match, which drew around 70,000 live spectators and more than 120 million viewers watched via livestream, which caused Netflix servers to crash.
On the other hand, Jake Paul implied during the pre-fight press conference that he would earn double the money Tyson was getting from the match.
“I’m here to make $40 million and knock out a legend,” Paul said in the press conference.
Magic Johnson Turns Emotional After Mike Tyson’s Loss
NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson was one of the vocal critics of the boxing match that saw a washed-up Tyson losing to a much younger opponent.
“Just sad smh. I cut it off because I couldn’t watch anymore. It’s sad to see Mike Tyson like this because I went to every Tyson fight. This fight tonight was not great for boxing,” Johnson wrote in a post on X.
All three judges scored the fight for Jake Paul 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73 in a lopsided contest.
Tyson, once the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and the youngest heavyweight boxing champion in history, showed his age.
While he showed flashes of what once made him “the baddest man on the planet” in the opening two rounds of the match as he landed a few solid punches, it was clear it would not last.
The much younger Jake Paul controlled the fight as the night wore on with Tyson’s stamina dropping after every round.
Boxing Fans Divided
Johnson was not alone in his thoughts that the fight should not have happened.
A fan on X commented, “That Mike Tyson fight was so sad. He’s 58, shouldn’t be in the ring and should never have been commissioned. I’d be embarrassed if I was Jake Paul, regardless of if he won that fight! Who cares? The record books will always show you beat someone 31 years older than you. Just sad!”
“He’s 58. Jake Paul being shameless enough to fight a senior citizen shouldn‘t shock anyone, but any true boxing fan expecting to see Mike Tyson turn back the clock tonight is a damn fool,” another fan said on X.
But there were also who disagreed with Johnson’s sentiments and credited Tyson for taking up the challenge at his age.
“I disagree with you.. This is truly an example of what age does to anyone,” wrote one person on X. “For Mike Tyson to even step in the ring.. that’s legendary. He has the guts.. that’s what matters.”
“Mike did amazing for his age. He should be proud,” another fan replied to Johnson’s comment.
“If that was Mike Tyson fighting at 38, it was sad. To me, at 58, it was expected, not sad. And please don’t say it was a bad look for boxing, cause that wasn’t boxing. It was barely an exhibition of a sport. I had no expectations going in, and my expectations were met,” wrote another fan.
