If you told me that one of the biggest boxing events of the year would be a fight between a 27-year-old and a 58-year-old former world champion, I would be laughing.
However, this supposed pipe dream became reality following Friday's clash between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The pair went head-to-head at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and like it or not, the aftermath has been the talk of the town ever since Paul was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
Since making his professional boxing debut in January 2020 against Ali Enson Gib, Paul has been marmite for boxing fans, experts, and fighters past and present.
However, no one can deny that he is someone able to generate the eyeballs and attention that some of the sport’s best fighters can only dream of.
His outing with Tyson epitomised that and it was an event which has produced huge numbers. Not only did a fight between a YouTuber-turned-boxer and a boxing legend generate $18.1 million on the gate, but there were also 108 million people watching the contest on Netflix.
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While there was no surprise that Paul was able to make easy work against a Tyson who looked a shadow of his former self, the reaction from certain areas of the boxing world was interesting to say the least.
Some cried outrage, disappointed about what had transpired in the ring and labelled both Paul and Tyson ‘con artists’. From boxing fans, these sorts of jibes are nothing new, but to hear it from fighters such as former two-weight world champion Timothy Bradley, it’s a surprise.
But was it those who got emotionally invested in the fight outside of the ring who fooled themselves?
With Paul taking on someone who was 31 years senior, what were they expecting, a beatdown. ‘The Problem Child’ could have easily decided to put his foot down and inflict a beating on Tyson who was showing every bit of his age from the opening bell, but instead Paul decided to show respect to someone he considers to be an inspiration.
Outrage, pioneers, superstars - a night of everything
As ever with major fight nights, those with an interest are victims of letting their emotions cloud judgement, and speaking on DAZN’s Ariel and Ade show, Ade Oladipo placed blame on the fans for thinking Tyson had even the slightest chance of getting the win.
“Some fans tuned in to think Mike could beat Jake, are you crazy!? A lot of those fans included genuine boxers; they were saying Mike has got a chance,” Oladipo said.
“They are saying Jake conned the public, Mike conned the public, no they didn’t, you conned yourself.”
Ariel Helwani also gave his thoughts as to why the result of Paul vs. Tyson led to cries of outrage from some of the millions who decided to watch the fight.
“When I went home afterwards and saw the outrage, ‘we can’t let this happen again’, ‘ we can’t get conned again’, ‘we can’t let boxing do this to us again’, what annoyed me about that was that this was coming from a lot of people who I know don’t care about boxing,” Helwani claimed.
The main event may not have lived up to whatever expectation some had, but the whole event did bring the sports and entertainment world to a standstill, and there are plenty of positives to be had.
One of those was for the co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, an eagerly awaited rematch which saw two pioneers’ box on a huge stage in front of millions, whilst also receiving career high pay days.
There is also the clientele which these sorts of events can attract, and while the main attraction failed to deliver, Oladipo, like many of those watching, was jealous about not attending in person.
“I’m not mad at the event, I did not want to see Mike fight, but I don’t mind when I see a big event.
“I was jealous I wasn’t there, it seemed incredible, everyone was there, all the superstars from music, entertainment and sport were there.”
Paul may not be a pound-for-pound star or world champion, but when he fights, the boxing world takes notice, and whenever he decides to step foot in the ring for his 13th professional fight, fans may need to temper their expectations as to what ‘The Problem Child’ can produce come the opening bell.
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