The crowd's boos swelled once more as Jake Paul dropped his gloves and bowed to 58-year-old Mike Tyson before the final bell, paying tribute to one of boxing's all-time greats.
The gesture, however, did little to appease fans packed into AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, on Friday night.
Paul claimed an eight-round unanimous decision over Tyson, but the bout between the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer and the former heavyweight champion – making his first sanctioned professional fight in nearly 20 years – fell far short of its hype.
The pre-fight animosity gave way to post-fight bewilderment as frustrated fans voiced their discontent, questioning the legitimacy of a matchup that had raised eyebrows long before the opening bell.
The fight wasn't close on the judges' scorecards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two scoring it 79-73.
"Let's give it up for Mike," Paul said in the ring, eliciting little response from a crowd that had already started filing out before the decision was announced. "He's the greatest to ever do it. I look up to him. I'm inspired by him."
Tyson came out strong at the opening bell, landing a couple of quick punches, but offered little offensive output the rest of the way.
The fight featured shorter-than-usual two-minute rounds instead of three, fewer rounds overall, and heavier gloves designed to reduce punching power – all of which did little to generate action.
Paul grew more aggressive after Tyson’s initial burst but was far from precise, with several wild swings and misses.
"I was trying to hurt him a little bit," said Paul, who improved to 11-1. "I was scared he was going to hurt me. I was trying to hurt him. I did my best. I did my best."
Tyson, meanwhile, spent much of the fight on the defensive, waiting for Paul to make his move. It was a stark contrast to the co-main event, a slugfest between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, in which Taylor retained her undisputed super lightweight title with another disputed decision.
The bout marked Tyson’s first sanctioned fight since 2005. He previously fought Roy Jones Jr. in a more entertaining exhibition in 2020. Paul, who began his boxing career a little more than four years ago, was still in awe of sharing the ring with the legendary fighter.
"I didn't prove nothing to anybody, only to myself," Tyson said about completing the fight. "I'm not one of those guys that looks to please the world. I'm just happy with what I can do."
Tyson's record now stands at 50-7 with 44 knockouts.
The fight was initially scheduled for July 20 but was postponed after Tyson was treated for a stomach ulcer following an illness on a flight.
Tensions flared during the weigh-in, with Tyson slapping Paul on the face, and the two traded insults at various promotional events before and after the postponement. By the end of the underwhelming fight, however, any animosity had disappeared.
"This guy's always had my back," Paul said about Tyson. "I love him. I love his family, his coaches. It's just an honor to be in the ring with all of them."
Despite the lackluster action, the fight set a Texas record for combat sports, generating nearly $18 million at the gate, according to organizers. Netflix, which streamed the fight live, experienced technical difficulties due to high demand in its first live combat sports event. Netflix has more than 280 million subscribers globally.
"This is the biggest event," Paul said. "Over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site."
On the undercard, Mario Barrios retained the WBC welterweight title in a draw with Abel Ramos. Barrios controlled the early rounds, but Ramos dominated the middle rounds. Both fighters recorded a knockdown in the 12-round bout.
The fight was Barrios' first since being appointed the WBC welterweight champion after Terence Crawford began moving up from the 147-pound division. Barrios, 29, improved to 29-2-1, while the 33-year-old Ramos is now 28-6-3.
