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Paul beats Tyson but hits don't match the hype

Staff WritersAP
Jake Paul has scored a unanimous decision victory against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in Texas. (AP PHOTO)
Camera IconJake Paul has scored a unanimous decision victory against 58-year-old Mike Tyson in Texas. (AP PHOTO) Credit: AAP

Jake Paul has won a unanimous decision over Mike Tyson as the hits didn't match the hype in a fight between a young YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion.

All the hate from the pre-fight build-up was gone, with Paul even stopping to pay homage with a bow to Tyson before the final bell sounded at the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

The fight wasn't close on the judge's cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two calling it 79-73.

Asked if it was the last time he would be seen in a ring, Tyson said: "I don't know. It depends on the situation.

"I don't think so. I knew (Paul) was a good fighter.

"I didn't prove nothing to anyone, just myself. I'm not one of these guys who goes out to please the world, I'm just happy with what I can do."

Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a couple of quick punches, but didn't try much else the rest of the way.

Even fewer rounds and shorter rounds couldn't do much to generate 'Iron Mike', in his first sanctioned pro fight in almost 20 years, facing a boxing neophyte with hopes of fighting for championships somewhere in the future.

Paul was more aggressive after the quick burst from Tyson in the opening seconds, but the punching wasn't very efficient. There were quite a few wild swings and misses.

Tyson mostly sat back and waited for Paul to come to him, with a few exceptions. It was quite the contract the co-main event, another slugfest in which Katie Taylor kept her undisputed super lightweight championship with a decision over Amanda Serrano.

It was the first sanctioned fight since 2005 for Tyson. Paul started fighting a little more than four years ago.

"Mike Tyson, this is such an honour," said Paul.

"He's the greatest to ever do it. He is an icon. It was an honour to fight him. He was exactly what I thought he would be."

The fight was originally scheduled for July 20 but had to be postponed when Tyson was treated for a stomach ulcer after falling ill on a flight.

Netflix's first attempt at handling a live sports event did not receive a passing grade.

The Friday night coverage experienced streaming problems according viewers on social media. Many vented their frustrations with streaming and buffering problems before and during the fight.

According to the website Down Detector, nearly 85,000 viewers logged problems with outages or streaming leading up to the fight.

The bout was Netflix's biggest live sports event to date, and an opportunity to make sure it can handle audience demand with the NFL and WWE on the horizon. It streamed globally to Netflix's 280 million subscribers at no additional cost.

Netflix will broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day and will begin streaming WWE "Raw" on January 6.

With the AP.

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