They all wanted the same thing: for Mike Tyson to make Jake Paul's head explode.
Well no all. The 27-year-old content creator received top billing in Netflix's latest foray into live programming for a reason. Paul earned $40 million compared to Tyson's $20 million, because Paul has a much larger fan base, earned through outrageous stunts, prank wars and ruining the lives of their neighbors. His latest, err, innovation, is escalating his standard 'fights' to actual fisticuffs, putting his body on the line in the boxing ring. It's been lucrative, especially because he's been careful to reserve himself only for other, lesser talents. And while YouTubers take a lot of crap, you know who else cares more about money than being a good person? Boxing promoters.
But if you're reading this (if you can read, period), you're probably rooting for Tyson. Tyson, a violent thug and convicted rapist who squandered a huge fortune, hit rock bottom and rebuilt himself declaring war on his own egowho is now 58, discovered self-reflection a little later in life and, in the process, became one of our culture's most compelling redemption stories. At one point so out of control he was biting off his opponent's ears, Tyson is now some kind of proof that no one is beyond absolution.
Unfortunately, the fight was practically over before it began.
This does not mean that Tyson lost the match. Despite rumors on the Internet about the leak of a 'script', all evidence points to a fight that took place completely legally. Paul won as the betting public expected him to: keeping his distance in the early rounds, using his three-inch height advantage to stay away from Tyson's fists, wearing down his much older opponent, hugging him when he felt threatened or gassed, and trusting in youth resistance to win on points. Tyson hadn't boxed since 2005, but he stepped into the ring with the legendary puncher's shot: Hey, all it takes is one punch, right?
Unfortunately, Paul avoided this by negotiating the use of special gloves14 ounces instead of the standard 10 ounces. With 40% more padding in the gloves than in a normal boxing match, Tyson's best chance of winning had been effectively neutralized. All he could do was hold on.
Neither of them showed the stamina to last eight rounds, and as the fight progressed, they looked at each other almost as much as we looked at them. Tyson entered the ring with his right knee in a brace, and by the third round his legs were visibly troubled. Without his footwork, his striking fell back into the bad habits that plagued the end of his career: few combinations, no discernible strategy, and big punches thrown like prayers. A few times per round he charged with possible knockouts, but without preparation, they rarely hit. Tyson shook his head and defended admirably, but Paul would have won even without those padded gloves.
The crowd that stayed up to watch the main event (the opening bell rang four hours after the announced start) was no doubt disappointed, but at least they saw a couple of good matches on the never-ending card. A welterweight championship fight between Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos turned into a non-stop battle, and was so close that not even the judges could tell who won: it ended in a split draw, to boos from the crowd. Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano then faced off for the undisputed super lightweight title, a rematch of an iconic (and hotly contested) fight from 2022. The announcer's repeated insistence that “their story” was being told nearly spoiled it, but boxing fans had to applaud such a cruel and bloody affair. Once again, Taylor won to the surprise of the crowd, cementing his legacy with a unanimous decision that belied the closeness of the fight.
If you were waiting for Barrios vs. Ramos, or Taylor vs. Serrano, your Netflix subscription was worth it (that is, if you could watch it: slow loading times pushed me to my laptop next to the router and Netflix was trending). on social media for all the wrong reasons). But as for the rest of us, even the West Coasters were probably wondering why they stayed up so late.
Tyson and Paul took home big prizes, but the real winners of the night were Netflix and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where the fights took place. In an interview earlier that night, Jones mentioned how excited he and the rest of the NFL were about Netflix. setting money on fire breaking into live sports. This year, Netflix has two NFL games on Christmas Day. Next time a league contract is finalized, expect them to get more.
So far no more have been earned. But after Paul vs. Tyson, there's no other place to go but up.
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