The boos from a crowd wanting more action on Friday were growing again when Jake Paul dropped his gloves before the final bell and bowed toward 58-year-old Mike Tyson.
Paying homage to one of the biggest names in boxing history did not do much for the fans who filled the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
Paul won an eight-round unanimous decision over Tyson as the hits did not match the hype in a fight between the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer and the former heavyweight champion in his first sanctioned pro bout in almost 20 years.
Photo: Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images
All the hate from the pre-fight buildup was gone, replaced by boos from bewildered fans hoping for more action in a fight that drew plenty of questions about its legitimacy long before it happened.
Tyson slapped Paul on the face during the weigh-in the night before the fight and they traded insults in several of the hype events.
The hate was long gone by the end of the underwhelming fight.
Photo: Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images
“This guy’s always had my back,” Paul said about Tyson. “I love him. I love his family, his coaches. It’s just an honor to be in the ring with all of them.”
The fight was not close on the judge’s cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two calling it 79-73.
“Let’s give it up for Mike,” Paul said in the ring, not getting much response from a crowd that started filing out before the decision was announced. “He’s the greatest to ever do it. I look up to him. I’m inspired by him.”
Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a couple of quick punches, but did not try much else the rest of the way.
Even fewer rounds than the normal 10 or 12 and two-minute rounds instead of three, along with heavier gloves designed to lessen the power of punches, could not do much to generate action.
Paul was more aggressive after the quick burst from Tyson in the opening seconds, but the punching was not very efficient. There were quite a few wild swings and misses.
“I was trying to hurt him a little bit,” said Paul, who improved to 11-1. “I was scared he was going to hurt me. I was trying to hurt him. I did my best. I did my best.”
“I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself,” Tyson said when asked what it meant to complete the fight. “I’m not one of those guys that looks to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do.”
Tyson’s record is now 50-7 with 44 knockouts.
Tyson mostly sat back and waited for Paul to come to him, with a few exceptions.
It was a contrast to the co-main event, another slugfest between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in which Taylor kept her undisputed super lightweight championship with another disputed decision.
The rematch between Taylor and Serrano was as bloody and bruising as the original, and the decision — and the reaction to it — was about the same, too.
Taylor retained her unanimous super lightweight championship in a razor-thin unanimous decision over Serrano in a slugfest remarkably similar to their epic bout in New York two years ago.
Taylor was scored a 95-94 winner by all three judges, drawing boos from the crowd.
Taylor, 38, remained the undisputed champion in the super lightweight and lightweight divisions with a 24-1 record, including six KOs.
Serrano, who kept punching despite getting a nasty cut over her left eye in the sixth round, was the crowd favorite much the same way she was in the disputed split decision at Madison Square Garden in 2022.
The cut appeared to come from a head-butt from Taylor, who was penalized a point for head-butting in the sixth round.
Serrano said her first-ever cut came in a head-butt from Taylor in the first meeting and accused Taylor of doing it on purpose.
“I think 100 percent because she does it in every fight,” Serrano said. “It is what it is. I’m a champion, no matter what.”
Asked about a third meeting, Serrano was interrupted by her trainer, Jordan Maldonado, who made more accusations about head-butting.
“If head-butting is not included and we get a fair referee, one that knows what he’s doing and is going to do what he has to do,” Maldonado said. “It was a lot of head-butting. Amanda Serrano has 50 fights. The first time she ever got cut was the first fight with Katie Taylor.”
Her eyes, cheeks and lips swollen in the post-fight news conference, Taylor shrugged off the allegations of head-butting.
“I really don’t care what’s being said about the fight,” the 2012 Olympic champion said. “I’m 2-0 against Serrano.”
In a post on X after the fight, Serrano showed the stats that had her with 324-217 advantage in punches landed.
“I landed 107 more punches, she got a point deducted and I lost 95-94,” Serrano wrote.
Mario Barrios retained the WBC welterweight title in a draw with Abel Ramos on the undercard. Barrios was in control early before Ramos dominated the middle rounds. Each recorded a knockdown in the 12-round bout.
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