Fans immediately noticed something was off with Tyson. Tyson only landed 18 punches throughout the entire fight, according to CompuBox. Not to mention, the former heavyweight champion faced various health issues leading up to the fight. — AP
Perhaps our expectations were a little too high. Even if Jake Paul and Mike Tyson’s live-streamed boxing match on Nov 15 failed to captivate, Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions wants to squash any chatter that the fight was rigged.
Paul’s company, which he co-founded with business partner Nakisa Bidarian in 2021, released a statement pushing back on claims the Netflix-streamed fight was fake in any way.
“Rigging a professional boxing match is a federal crime” in the US “Paul vs. Tyson was a professional match sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR). Both fighters, in good faith, performed to the best of their abilities with the goal of winning the fight,” the MVP statement said.
The highly anticipated fight between Paul, 27, and Tyson, 58, drew 108 million viewers and was “the most streamed global sporting event ever," according to Netflix. Paul beat the former heavyweight champion in a unanimous decision after eight rounds.
Fans immediately noticed something was off with Tyson. Tyson only landed 18 punches throughout the entire fight, according to CompuBox. Not to mention, the former heavyweight champion faced various health issues leading up to the fight.
Tyson suffered an ulcer, which postponed the initial July 20 date. After the fight occurred, Tyson posted on his social media account that he “almost died” in June and that he had eight blood transfusions prior to the bout.
During the post-fight press conference, Paul said he took it easy on Tyson, saying, “I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone who didn’t need to be hurt.” Later, on the Nov 19 episode of his brother Logan Paul’s Impaualsive podcast, the boxer complimented Tyson despite what audiences witnessed.
“He was hard to hit. He was elusive. I was missing a lot of punches,” stated Paul.
The allure of these Jake Paul boxing matches stems from the hope the 11-1 YouTuber-turned-boxer gets his comeuppance, whether from Tyson or retired UFC fighters. All that considered, Bidarian rejects any rumours that the fight was pre-determined to go this way.
“This is not the first time Jake Paul has faced unfounded scepticism or outright disbelief as a professional athlete, and frankly, the claim that his bout must have been rigged is just the latest backhanded compliment to come his way,” said Nakisa Bidarian, co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions. – nj.com/Tribune News Service
