Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul is nearly a week old.
The controversial fight was held at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas last Friday, as Tyson and Paul did battle on the first ever live boxing event on Netflix.
Rightly or wrongly it was one of the biggest fights of the year, with over 72,300 fans in attendance, generating a gate of 18.1 million dollars in the process, a US record for a combat sports event outside of Las Vegas.
It was also viewed by 108 million live global viewers, making it the most-streamed global sporting event ever, while the co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano was the most-watched professional women’s sports event in US history.
Taylor and Serrano certainly delivered, but Tyson vs. Paul was a much more disappointing affair, with ‘Iron Mike’ a shadow of his former self as the Youtuber-turned-boxer secured a dominant unanimous decision win.
Some fans have questioned the validity of the bout, but legendary trainer Robert Garcia has told ESNews that he doesn’t believe it was.
“With Tyson and Paul. You’re just going to see the show. Like when people pay to watch WWE.
I’m not saying it was staged, but he’s 58. There’s no way people could expect him to compete the way he was when he was young.
19 years ago was his last fight and he got dominated by nobody. What makes you think 19 years later he’s going to do better. I think Paul actually carried him and went through the rounds so he wouldn’t hurt him.”
Former world heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs has also weighed in on whether or not he thinks the fight was scripted.
