After the farce of a “fight” between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson on Friday night, it’s clear that Jake Paul is a great promoter but not a real boxer.
To his credit, Paul has impressively carved out a lucrative lane for himself in boxing entertainment, something we haven’t witnessed before. He’s also been able to give Amanda Serrano the exposure and payday she’s rightfully deserved for many years. For those two accomplishments, he deserves to be applauded.
But fighting washed-up MMA fighters and an old, tired Mike Tyson who was recovering from a severe illness does not make him a pro boxer, especially when fighting the former champion in a fight that should never have been sanctioned in the first place.
Paul gave fans all the reason they needed to doubt what the fight was afterward when asked whether he let off the gas during the fight.
“Yeah, definitely. Definitely a bit. I wanted to give fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.”
In other words, the fight should never have taken place.
This "fight" should never have been sanctioned. The best part was the undercards of Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano and Mario Barrios vs. Abel Ramos. pic.twitter.com/OjwWEnqR6K
— First and Pen (@firstandpen) November 16, 2024
These are reasons why real pro boxers should not be seeking him out for a fight.
Yes, the viewership and payday were huge, but to watch a once lethal Tyson bite his gloves, throw punches that were “just a bit outside,” refrain from throwing his deadly uppercut and look like a shell of himself at the age of 58, was depressing and unfair.
But even more infuriating was seeing professional boxers try to engage Paul for a fight.
Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev were among a group of real pro boxers looking for a big payday through a match with Paul.
Two champions calling out the 127th-ranked heavyweight in the world is ridiculous and embarrassing.
Paul has reciprocated, particularly in his quest to get Canelo to fight him. He even went as far as saying that Canelo needed him more than he needed Canelo.
