Respect to both fighters
: @MostVpromotions #PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/XymB9tLQvf
— PFL (@PFLMMA) November 16, 2024
After a nearly 20-year hiatus from professional boxing, “Iron” Mike Tyson finally returned to the ring. Unfortunately for his millions of fans around the world, his return to the ring was anything but explosive.
Tyson was outboxed over eight, two-minute rounds by YouTube sensation Jake Paul en route to a unanimous decision loss (80-72, 79-73, 79-73) in Saturday night’s main event at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. Paul (11-1) showed little interest in trading bombs with the former heavyweight champ and used his youth and energy to outbox the 58-year-old legend.
Tyson last fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout back in 2020, but had not fought professionally since 2005. Paul understood that he was in a lose-lose situation from the start but still managed to find the best outcome. After surviving Tyson’s advances in the first two rounds. Paul took over the fight with his jab and superior hand speed.
Tyson’s legs were shot within the first five minutes of the fight and his explosive techniques lacked the pop they carried in the 1980s. Paul maintained his distance and gave Tyson some leather, but never pressured forward for the stoppage.
While the fight was controversial from the start, millions tuned into Netflix to watch the historic bout and while being entertained by a star studded undercard. Streaming issues were constant throughout the night and fans who were hoping for a miracle were left disappointed, but what can you say: That’s boxing.
Related » Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Round-by-Round Scoring
In other action, reigning undisputed women’s super lightweight champion Katie Taylor (24-1) defended her belts against seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano (47-3-1) in a 10-round war. Scorecards could’ve gone either way but Taylor went up 2-0 in her series with Serrano by a slim unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94). WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1) retained his strap by split draw (114-112, 116-110, 113-113) in his slugfest against Abel Ramos (28-6-2). Neeraj Goyat (20-4-2) cruised to a clear unanimous decision win over Whindersson “Lil Whind” Nunes (59-55, 60-54, 60-54) in super middleweight action. Shadasia Green (15-1) claimed the WBO women’s super middleweight title with a split decision win over Melinda Watpool (7-1) (97-93, 94-96, 96-94). Undefeated junior welterweight Lucas Bahdi improved to 18-0 with a majority decision win over Armando Casamonica (14-1). Brooklyn-born featherweight phenom Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington improved to 14-0 with a dominant unanimous decision (80-70, 80-70, 80-70) over Dana Coolwell.
