On November 15th, 65 million people tuned in to Netflix’s glitchy livestream of the much-anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The event took place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where thousands more congregated to witness the bizarre fight between a 27-year-old YouTuber and a retired 58-year-old professional known as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.
The match lasted 8 rounds, and after the first couple, it was clear that Tyson was losing steam. By the time Paul was declared the winner, thousands of viewers had already left the arena.
Naturally, the internet had a lot to say about the boxing match. Let’s unpack all the buzz on social media about the unconventional sporting event.
Nobody wanted Jake Paul to win
The internet has never seemed to agree on anything before, but the collective rooting for the downfall of Jake Paul briefly brought everyone together.
In fact, when Jake Paul won the match, his victorious moment was accompanied by a soundtrack of booing from the crowd.
Jake Paul cringe
People were also quick to comment on how the fight was an overall bad look for the YouTuber, due to it not being a fair fight and Paul’s overall cringiness.
Mike Tyson— we saw too much
The main event was arguably outside of the ring: a close-up shot of Mike Tyson scarred us for life.
Jake Paul fighting old people
A huge point of contention was the three decade age gap between the two boxers. This is nothing new for Paul— he’s known for fighting older/retired athletes, and the only time he fought someone close in age, he lost.
Mike Tyson’s bizarre interview
In a pre-fight interview with a young girl, Tyson got very existential and caught her off guard, making for another viral moment.
Rigged?
While nothing has been confirmed, there’s a lot of speculation that the fight was rigged and that Mike Tyson was paid to lose. A fan conspiracy? Probably, but either way it shows how most of the public expected the fight to go.
What have we learned from this fight? Well, not a lot— other than the fact that everyone still hates Jake Paul. Despite him winning, the general public appears to be on Mike Tyson’s side. The less-than-celebrated victory is clearly not a hindrance to Paul’s boxing career; there are already murmurings about his next opponent. Maybe he’ll finally win against someone his own age. But until then, Jake Paul is yet to be recognized as a serious contender.
What's Your Reaction?
