Dave Portnoy can’t stop thinking about Friday night’s fight — both admiringly and begrudgingly.
“It was the greatest … I called it con-job marketing, but I would do it if I were either of them, Barstool’s founder said on an episode of the “BFFs” podcast released Wednesday. “Jake got $40 million, Tyson got $20 million. Neither of them [were] in danger, but it was exactly what I thought [it was going to be].”
The lack of drama between Tyson, 58, and Paul, 27, has been a hot-button issue since the moment the bell rang on their final round and Paul was deemed victor by unanimous decision.
Accusations that the YouTuber-turned-boxer was stringing the former heavyweight champion along rained in from all corners of the internet — a notion which Paul himself gave legitimacy to.
“I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” the internet sensation said during a post-fight interview
Portnoy was one among the masses to express his displeasure in the fight’s non-competitiveness, writing on X, “Credit to Jake Paul + Mike Tyson for pulling off one of the great cons of century. I shoulda put 10 million on Jake. Not cause he’s good but cause he fought a senior citizen. I would say everybody involved should be ashamed but I’d take the money too if I could.”
Jake Paul, left, and Mike Tyson, right, embrace after their heavyweight boxing match on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.AP
During the “BFFs” episode posted Wednesday, Portnoy shared a host of other thoughts about Tyson’s unceremonious return to the ring.
“He’s a bad guy, he was the baddest, scariest motherf–ker, and that’s what people remember,” he said. “But I don’t think they actually watched him as closely [on Friday]. You just had to be out to lunch if you thought [Tyson was going to win].”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is seen in attendance during the UFC 299 event at Kaseya Center on March 09, 2024 in Miami, Florida.Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
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Notwithstanding the lack of theatrics, Tyson-Paul was the “most-streamed global sporting event ever,” according to Netflix.
More than 108 million viewers from around the globe sat through a buffering video and pixelated images, technical hitches the streaming giant has vowed to fix before its NFL doubleheader on Christmas Day.
