Recently, there was a boxing match between the famous 58 year old retired boxer Mike Tyson, and the rising star of the boxing scene, named Jake Paul. The fight was initially scheduled for June 20th, 2024, however Mike Tyson suffered a stomach ulcer flare-up, which required the fight to be rescheduled to November 15th. Jake Paul is not new to controversy, as throughout his life, he was hated by many for certain actions he did during his career on YouTube. This spurred many people to purchase tickets and bet money on him losing the fight, in hopes that he would be taught a lesson about bringing a retired boxer back into the ring.
Throughout Jake’s career, he was under constant criticism, with it being a popular occurrence to “hate-watch” his videos on YouTube. This fanned the flames the fight sparked, due to him bringing an old man who hasn’t worn boxing gloves in years out of retirement for money and fame. This selfish attitude is a common pattern throughout his life, as in 2018 there was a controversy involving Jake and his brother Logan Paul, in which they recorded a video in a forest in Japan known to have many victims of suicide, taking videos of their reaction to seeing one of the victims—as well as one of the corpse itself—all in the pursuit of fame and money. Because of his reputation, his invitation of Mike Tyson to fight in the ring did not go without criticism, with many people shunning him for bringing an old man out of retirement just to beat him up and ruin the impactful and inspiring legacy Mike created for himself.
Mike Tyson, appropriately nicknamed “The Iron Mike”, was a former undisputed heavyweight world champion, being known to punch with 1800 psi (pounds of force per square inch of area), which is more than 3 times the amount that is needed to crush a human skull (520 psi). He left the boxing scene and retired in 2005, with a stunning game history of 50 wins and just 7 losses. More impressively, 44 of those wins were wins by KO, or knock out, which means he was able to punch the other person with so much force that they were left incapacitated for longer than the 10 seconds the referee gives them to stand up. Despite his successful boxing career, Tyson does not come without controversy, as he was convicted of rape in 1992, due to a woman coming out about his actions in a Miss Black America beauty pageant. Furthermore, multiple allegations have come out about him being a perpetrator of domestic violence, more specifically from his ex-wife Robin Givens. However, most of his actions have unfortunately been overshadowed by his accomplishments in the ring.
During the fight, Mike Tyson was observed to have a guilty and upset expression, even before the fight began, which has led many of his fans to believe that the fight was staged and he was paid to let Jake Paul win. After he lost the fight, he was asked why he fought and he responded by telling the interviewer it was for financial reasons. Additionally, it was noticed that Mike Tyson had an opportunity to get a hit on Jake Paul on multiple occasions, however he instead opted to fake the hit, which is unusual as in the footage it was very clear the punch would have easily won him the fight. However, there is currently no evidence to support the idea that the fight is staged, these are just speculations people are making based on the unexpected results of the boxing match.
In conclusion, the Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight has been shrouded in a lot of controversy due to both of their pasts, and is critiqued by many due to it seeming staged and also due to Mike Tyson being brought out of retirement specifically for this one fight. The fight caused trouble for the future of Jake’s career, due to the damage it caused to his reputation, which can grow into more obstacles for him in the future.
Sources:
“Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Nov. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Paul_vs._Mike_Tyson.
“Mike Tyson.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Nov. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson.