Paul beats Tyson by unanimous decision in Texas

Youtuber Jake Paul beat boxing legend Mike Tyson by unanimous decision to win an intergenerational heavyweight battle in Texas on Friday.

The bout between the 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Paul and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Tyson was streamed live on Netflix and played out in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Jake Paul defeated Mike Tyson 79-73. After the fight ended, Jake Paul called Mike Tyson "G.O.A.T, " short for "Greatest of All Time," and showed. Mike Tyson, on his part, said that Jake Paul is a good boxer.

Tyson’s last professional fight was in 2005, but he’s competed in a series of exhibition fights, with his most recent being against Roy Jones Jr on November 28, 2020.

“I’m really happy. He was a good fighter and well-prepared,” Tyson said. “I didn’t prove anything to anyone. Just to myself.”

Those fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offense against his younger opponent, landing just 18 punches to Paul's 78.

"First and foremost, Mike Tyson - it's an honor to be able to fight him," said Paul.

"It was as tough and hard as I thought it would be."

Tyson, who wore a knee brace, never mounted much of a challenge after being wobbled by some left hands in the third round but did enough defensively to avoid taking any serious damage.

He admitted after the contest to fighting through a leg injury.

"Yeah, but I can't use that as an excuse. If I did, I wouldn't be in here," Tyson said.

"I knew he was a good fighter. He was prepared, I came to fight. I didn't prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I'm not one of those guys that live to please the world. I'm just happy with what I can do."

Tyson, one of the most fearsome heavyweight champions of all time during his heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was in his first professional fight in nearly 20 years. He was non-committal when asked if he would return to the ring again.

"I don't know. It depends on the situation," he said.

Paul (11-1) said he can now fight anyone he wants, possibly even Mexican Canelo Alvarez, after being the main attraction in the mega event that brought out a star-studded crowd and 72,300 fight fans to the home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

"This is the biggest event, over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site, The biggest US boxing gate, $20 million, in US history, and everyone is next on the list."