- Jake Paul defeated Mike Tyson via unanimous decision after eight rounds
- Tyson’s punch output failed to deliver the thrills many had hoped for
- Even at 58, Tyson has not ruled out boxing again
Loudmouth YouTuber-turned boxer Jake Paul getting shut up and his lights turned off by Mike Tyson, arguably the most destructive, ferocious heavyweight ever? Yes, that was a good recipe for a box office event.
In reality, fans saw a 58-year-old man try his best to stay alive in the ring. Even a boxer of Paul’s fairly limited talents could have stepped on the gas and put Tyson away whenever he wanted, which was sad to see. The stats do not paint a pretty picture.
But that’s what we should have all expected. It only speaks to Tyson’s incredible legacy and perpetual intrigue that fans allowed themselves to even remotely believe he, if anyone, could defy father time.
Alas, Tyson could not give us one last great dance. In fact, he had to do his upmost just to remain upright.
It was a pleasure to see a legend back in his natural habitat once more, but as any fan should have expected, it was not the prime Tyson many of us hold so dear in our memory banks.
It wasn’t even the Tyson who fought Roy Jones Jr during COVID in an exhibition. With all the respect in the world, this Tyson looked his age and the health problems he had prior to the original postponement of this fight become a more vivd picture.
Tyson did show early flashes of his famous aggression, but he failed to land anything clean
Paul found a rhythm in the middle rounds and Tyson began to look unsteady on his feet
Inside the ring, Tyson had a decent first round and many believe he won it. Still, he only landed four punches in the two minutes. His best round of the fight was the third when he landed five. Unfortunately, Paul landed 16.
The stats paint a sad picture of the contest. There was two rounds – the fourth and the sixth – where Tyson landed no punches at all. Totally sapped of his energy, he threw eight punches on both occasions and failed to connect at all.
Tyson landed a total of 18 punches over eight rounds. Paul had 78. Conversely, Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion, threw 79 punches in the five rounds it took to defeat Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
Tyson simply couldn’t match someone 31 years his junior – and there’s no shame in that
There’s levels in the professional game and the numbers are a stark reminder Tyson shouldn’t have been competing.
At his peak, Tyson was an indomitable machine. During his first reign as heavyweight champion starting in late 1986, he became one of the most dominant boxers in the sport’s history.
For the next three-plus years, Tyson collected a record of 10-0 with nine KOs, to become undisputed champion. He landed 16.3 of 34.5 punches per-round. That’s a 47.2% hit rate, nearly 15% higher than the heavyweight division average at the time.
That included a devastating 12.4 power punches a round, three more than his contemporaries.
It was fantastic to have a Tyson fight week again and amazing to see him in shape. However, his post-fight call-out of Logan Paul is cause for worry – this shouldn’t be encouraged anymore, for the good of a true legend.
