Jake Paul has admitted he changed his approach and had no desire to knock out Mike Tyson after seeing him in action. Their eight-round fight went the distance with Paul winning at ease in a sad spectacle against an old and weary Tyson.
Paul appeared to briefly have Tyson unsteady on his feet in round three but the pace slowed after that stage with Tyson, 58, visibly tired between rounds. With around 10 seconds of the bout left, Paul stopped fighting and bowed in respect to his opponent, who was once considered the world’s best.
“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone who didnt need to be hurt,” Paul said on the possibility of knocking out Tyson.
Viewers watching on Netflix were disappointed by the spectacle – as well as technical problems with the streaming service – while fans packed into the transformed AT&T Stadium also booed at the final bell after feeling short-changed.
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Paul was asked about the boos in his post-fight press conference and pointed to Tyson’s tactics for making it difficult to put on a show. And he claimed his approach changed the way the fight played out.
He said: “Thank you for everyone tuning in and coming. I tried to give the fight the best fight I possibly could, but when someone’s just surviving in the ring, basically, it’s hard to make it exciting.
“I could really get him to engage me or slip shots or do something super cool or whatever. But I don’t care what people have to say. It is what it is.”
Jake Paul dominated but failed to stop Mike Tyson
Paul added that he “wanted to knock him out” after he slapped him at their final face off but conceded: “That kind of went away as the rounds went on.”
“I just have so much respect for him,” he declared.
Discussing his performance in the ring on Netflix, Tyson said: “I am happy. I knew he was a good fighter. I knew he was prepared. I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I am just happy with what I can do.”
On Jake Paul:, he added: “Very good fighter. Absolutely [deserves respect].”
