Respect to both fighters 👏
🎥: @MostVpromotions
#PaulTyson pic.twitter.com/XymB9tLQvf— PFL (@PFLMMA)
November 16, 2024
After a nearly 20-year hiatus from professional boxing, “Iron” Mike
Tyson finally returned to the ring. Unfortunately for his millions
of fans around the world, his return to the ring was anything but
explosive.
Tyson was outboxed over eight, two-minute rounds by YouTube
sensation Jake Paul en route to a unanimous decision loss (80-72,
79-73, 79-73) in Saturday night’s main event at AT&T Stadium in
Dallas. Paul (11-1) showed little interest in trading bombs with
the former heavyweight champ and used his youth and energy to
outbox the 58-year-old legend.
Tyson last fought Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition bout back in 2020,
but had not fought professionally since 2005. Paul understood that
he was in a lose-lose situation from the start but still managed to
find the best outcome. After surviving Tyson’s advances in the
first two rounds. Paul took over the fight with his jab and
superior hand speed.
Tyson’s legs were shot within the first five minutes of the fight
and his explosive techniques lacked the pop they carried in the
1980s. Paul maintained his distance and gave Tyson some leather,
but never pressured forward for the stoppage.
While the fight was controversial from the start, millions tuned
into Netflix to watch the historic bout and while being entertained
by a star studded undercard. Streaming issues were constant
throughout the night and fans who were hoping for a miracle were
left disappointed, but what can you say: That’s boxing.
In other action, reigning undisputed women’s super lightweight
champion Katie Taylor (24-1) defended her belts against
seven-division world champion Amanda Serrano (47-3-1) in a 10-round
war. Scorecards could’ve gone either way but Taylor went up 2-0 in
her series with Serrano by a slim unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94,
95-94). WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1) retained
his strap by split draw (114-112, 116-110, 113-113) in his slugfest
against Abel Ramos (28-6-2). Neeraj Goyat (20-4-2) cruised to a
clear unanimous decision win over Whindersson “Lil Whind” Nunes
(59-55, 60-54, 60-54) in super middleweight action. Shadasia Green
(15-1) claimed the WBO women’s super middleweight title with a
split decision win over Melinda Watpool (7-1) (97-93, 94-96,
96-94). Undefeated junior welterweight Lucas Bahdi improved to 18-0
with a majority decision win over Armando Casamonica (14-1).
Brooklyn-born featherweight phenom Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington
improved to 14-0 with a dominant unanimous decision (80-70, 80-70,
80-70) over Dana Coolwell.