The stadium is packed full of fans. The two fighters are in the ring. Anticipation engulfs all of those in attendance. And then… the most mediocre, slow fight ensues. Lackluster entertainment, and yet this event made $18 million in ticket sales alone, while each fighter went home a wealthier man.
The match-up was heavily controversial even when it was announced, as it meant a 58-year-old Tyson would come out of retirement to fight a Youtuber turned mediocre boxer at 27. With the announcement of the event, many fans hoped Tyson would relive his former glory. Those hopes were soon tossed in the first round, where they displayed their dancing ability instead of their boxing skills. What happened to boxing?
Jake Paul started this trend of beating up old retired fighters for clout back in 2021 with the Paul-Askren fight. Ben Askren was a retired MMA fighter, not a boxer. This boxing match ended with Jake Paul knocking out Askren in the second round. Since this fight, Paul would get an increasing appetite for fighting progressively older opponents with no shame, boxing the likes of Tyron Woodly and Nate Diaz. When Paul decided to fight the young, active boxer Tommy Fury, he lost in a split decision. He was given a fight he had never got before with the retired fighters.
The incentive for revered, retired fighters to fight a Youtuber like Jake Paul has always puzzled me, but with enough money anything is possible. “Iron Mike” Tyson, the baddest man on the planet, lost to Jake Paul for 20 million dollars. And that’s the problem, the money’s too good to refuse. Nate Diaz lost for 500 thousand and Tyron Woodley lost twice for 2 million dollars. In the eyes of the fighters, Jake Paul gets to falsely bolster his reputation and the retired fighters get some more money to live off of. However, the fans are left with depressing memories of their favorite fighters losing to some YouTuber.
Will this change? After the Paul vs. Tyson Fight, active, competitive fighters challenged Paul. Notably, Claressa Shields is a light middleweight women’s fighter who claims she could beat Jake Paul. But most interestingly, a Saudi Prince has offered 700 million dollars for a rematch between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, asking for a 3-minute knockout from Tyson. This rematch would negate the possibility of a scripted fight, and we could see Tyson give it his all one last time.
