Although he put him against the ropes in the third round, Paul did not achieve the knockout he had promised on Thursday, when his aging rival slapped him during the weigh-in ceremony.
At the countdown of the eighth round, all two minutes away, Paul allowed himself to bow in respect to ‘Iron Mike’ before the final bell rang.
“First of all, Mike Tyson, it is a great honor. A round of applause for Mike,” Paul declared after hugging his opponent following his victory. “He’s the greatest of all time, he’s a legend. I’m inspired by him and we wouldn’t be here today without him.”
“This man is an icon and it is an honor to be able to fight with him,” he said.
“I came to fight”
Tyson, for his part, was satisfied with his performance despite the unappealable defeat. “I came to fight,” he said. “I didn’t prove anything to anyone, just myself… I’m happy with what I can do.”
As soon as the first bell rang, Tyson headed straight for his rival but Paul was not impressed and both kept their distance in the first two rounds, in which they barely tested their gloves.
In the third episode, the ‘youtuber’ began to exploit his greatest physical freshness in front of a Tyson who was biting his glove waiting for an opportunity. The former champion stood firm in defense but only landed a total of 18 blows out of 97 thrown, compared to his rival’s 78 out of 278.
After the halfway point of the fight, Tyson was already visibly resentful of the effort and Paul even allowed himself to make fun of him in the ring.
From the stands, Tyson was urged to abandon his cautious strategy and fight for victory. ‘Iron Mike’, however, continued to protect himself from Paul’s few attacks, which he did not risk in pursuit of the legend’s knockout.
Tyson fought with a protection on the right knee, but he said it didn’t affect his performance. “I can’t use that as an excuse. If I did I wouldn’t be here,” he said.
Paul “is a very good boxer,” acknowledged Tyson, who refused to rule out the possibility of him fighting again.
“I don’t know. It depends on the situation,” he said, which led him to be asked if this was his last fight.
“I don’t think so,” responded Tyson, who was reported to have He will receive about 20 million dollars for Friday’s fight.
The American retired from the rings in 2005 after a loss to Irishman Kevin McBride.
Friday’s fight counts toward his official career record, which now shows 50 wins (44 knockouts) and 7 losses, including the memorable two he conceded in 1996 and 1997 against Evander Holyfield, one of the many celebrities present at the fight. Friday.