“Iron” Mike Tyson may have disappointed many with his performance against Jake Paul on Friday, but ultimately the Hall of Famer’s 58-year-old body gave out.
Brooklyn’s Tyson, who was returning to the competitive ring for the first time in 19 years, went the eight-round distance with 27-year-old Paul of Cleveland in their heavyweight contest, losing a unanimous decision at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
According to Andre Ward, fellow boxing Hall of Famer, Tyson, now 50-7 (44 KOs), failed to make any significant impact after the second round because his legs were gone.
“His mind is telling him, throw this and do that and his body is saying, ‘Uh-uh bro, we're not doing that tonight,’” Ward said during his punditry work with Netflix.
“But, I mean, I'm more relieved than anything because I didn't wanna see Mike take a bad fall tonight, get hit with a shot, and something bad happened. I mean, it doesn't seem like everybody knew what they were getting themselves into because Mike can sell a fight so well.”
Tyson last fought in 2005, suffering a stoppage loss to Kevin McBride in six rounds. The legendary fighter – who held undisputed heavyweight championships between 1987 to 1990 – tried to remind patrons of his youthful days at the AT&T Stadium in the opening round against Paul, 11-1 (7 KOs) – but his opponent dominated the next seven rounds to earn a 79-73, 80-72, and 79-73 unanimous decision victory on the judges’ scorecards.
Ward praised Tyson for his resilience in going the distance.
“He still got that look in his eye. I told you when I interviewed him [in the build-up to the fight], I walked away like, ‘Man, I'm fired up for this fight.’ He has that ability, and sometimes I can understand that he lets people down because the action doesn't warrant the talk.
“But this is just what it is. It's an event. It's a 58-year-old legend saying, ‘Let me test this YouTuber out and see what he’s got.’ So, I appreciate Mike getting in shape. Hopefully, people aren't too disappointed, but come on. He's 58 years old. What do you expect?”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.
