Like most watching the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight on Nov. 15, Stephen A. Smith was uncomfortable witnessing a 58-year-old Tyson get beat up by Paul. Shannon Sharpe, nevertheless, didn’t see it the identical way and as an alternative saw Tyson’s loss as “pathetic.”
“Once you step into the ring, we gotta set [age] aside and judge you in your performance,” Sharpe said on ‘First Take.’ “That performance was pathetic. You aren’t getting no kudos talking about, ‘Oh, he’s 58.’ No, that is not what that is. This was not some charity. You said you were going to do that… Hopefully, he’s made enough money with this fight that he doesn’t must do that anymore.”
As a shell of himself, Tyson landed just 18 punches in the complete fight versus 78 from Paul, per Compubox. He threw not more than 21 total punches in a single round.
The complete conversation throughout the leadup to the fight surrounded Tyson and his age. At 58, Tyson had not only been out of an expert boxing ring for nearly 20 years but in addition suffered an ulcer flare-up that kept him out of the unique fight date in July. Tyson would also announce on X, formerly Twitter, after the fight that his medical concern nearly killed him over the summer.
The official fight purses haven’t been released to the general public, though it’s a widely known incontrovertible fact that Paul’s opponents have consistently been well-compensated. Netflix reported that the event received over 60 million views, making it one in every of the most-watched boxing events of all time.
Will Mike Tyson proceed fighting?
After his lopsided loss to Jake Paul left many fans unsatisfied, Mike Tyson didn’t confirm or deny the thought that he would finally retire from boxing. The previous unified heavyweight champion officially retired from skilled fighting in 2005 but has competed in several amateur bouts since then.
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Tyson infamously attempted to launch the failed “Mike Tyson World Tour” in 2006 before seemingly leaving the game for good. He returned in one other exhibition setting against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, 4 years before coming out of retirement to fight Paul as an expert.
After his seventh official loss, Tyson was asked by Ariel Helwani within the ring if he would retire. He denied the sentiment, as an alternative proposing the concept he potentially face Paul’s older brother, Logan Paul, in the long run. The WWE star confidently turned the offer down, saying he would “kill” Tyson in a hypothetical boxing match.
Tyson’s future stays uncertain, though his age likely prevents one other athletic commission from sanctioning one other fight of his as an expert bout.
