Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over Mike Tyson as the hits didn't match the hype in a fight between the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Friday night. All the hate from the pre-fight buildup was gone, with Paul even stopping to pay homage with a bow to Tyson before the final bell sounded at the Arlington, Texas home of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. The fight wasn't close on the judges' cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two calling it 79-73. Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a couple of quick punches but didn't try much else the rest of the way, the AP reports.
The bout was scheduled for eight two-minute rounds, as opposed to the normal three minutes and 10 or 12 rounds for most pro fights. But fewer rounds and shorter rounds couldn't do much to generate action for Tyson in his first sanctioned pro fight in almost 20 years, facing a boxing neophyte with hopes of fighting for championships in the future. Paul was more aggressive after the quick burst from Tyson in the opening seconds, but the punching wasn't very efficient. There were quite a few wild swings and misses. Tyson mostly sat back and waited for Paul to come to him, with a few exceptions. It was the first sanctioned fight since 2005 for Tyson. Paul started fighting a little more than four years ago.
Netflix's first attempt at handling a live sports event did not receive a passing grade, the AP reports. The fight experienced streaming problems according to many viewers on social media. Many viewers took to X and Bluesky to express their frustrations with streaming and buffering problems before and during the fight. The bout was seen as an opportunity to make sure Netflix can handle audience demand with the NFL and WWE on the horizon. It was streamed globally to the service's 280 million subscribers at no additional cost. Netflix will broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day and will begin streaming WWE Raw on Jan. 6. (More boxing stories.)