Jake Paul has explained why he didn’t try and knock out Mike Tyson during their fight on Friday night.
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The two men went head-to-head at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Friday in front of 72,000 people at the venue as well as an estimated 120 million watching all around the world.
The highly-anticipated fight saw eight rounds of action, two minutes each – though, some fans were left feeling disappointed after seeing one of the all-time greats struggle to keep up with his challenger. But then again, can you blame him? Tyson is 58 years old and Jake Paul is 31 years younger at 27.
By the final bell, Paul was declared the victor by unanimous decision, and he can now gloat about the victory over the GOAT of boxing for the rest of his life.
However, there is one thing that he vowed to do that he didn’t end up doing and that’s knocking Tyson out.
Throughout the match, it seemed like the 27-year-old YouTube sensation was actually holding himself back but we finally have answers as to why he felt as though he should.
According to BBC Sport, Paul didn’t want to injure Tyson.
“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” he said.
@bbcsport Jake Paul “didn’t want to hurt” Mike Tyson. #PaulTyson #JakePaul #MikeTyson #Boxing ♬ original sound – BBC Sport
And he even went on to confirm that he was carrying the former champ for most of the match.
“I did, a little bit,” he responded when the idea was brought up. “He wasn’t really engaging back; I could tell his age was showing and I have so much respect for him.
He continued: “After he slapped me [at the final weigh in] I wanted to knock him down and stuff but as the fight went on that feeling went away.”
Instead, the fighter told Al Jazeera that he really respected Tyson.
“It was tough like I expected it to be. He’s exactly what I thought. One of the greatest to ever do it. He’s an icon and a legend.”
“I was scared he was going to hurt me. I was trying to hurt him,” he added.
As for Tyson, he’s seemingly ready to take on his next challenge… the other Paul brother, Logan.
When ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ was asked whether this was the end of his career after the fight, he said honestly: “I don’t know. It depends on the situation.”
“I don’t think so,” he continued. “I didn’t prove nothing to anyone, just myself. I’m not one of these guys who goes out to please the world, I’m just happy with what I can do.”
Tyson was then asked: “You’ve got more in you?”
To which, the youngest world champ in history replied: “Yes.”
He then added that he’d be up for taking a swing at Paul’s brother, Logan Paul, who hit back with: “I’d kill you, Mike.”
I’m sure Netflix will be capitalizing on that one very soon.
Tyson vs Paul is still available to watch on Netflix.
