Jake Paul may have got the decision victory over Mike Tyson, but he’s making excuses for his performance regardless.
The Problem Child ran out a comfortable 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 winner in Texas on Friday night but most fans were concerned to see how a 58-year-old Tyson was moving around the ring.
The heavyweight legend look unsteady on his legs early on and devoid of balance when launching attacks. Fans were relieved to see him make it through the eight-rounds OK.
According to Paul, he was lucky to be able to fight full stop. An injury in training camp leading up to the big night nearly derailed the contest.
‘Two weeks ago I sprained my ankle, completely tore the ligament, anterior ligament and like snapped the other side of my foot,’ Paul said in the post-fight press conference.
‘[I] Was on crutches for four or five days and it just hindered the end of my training camp. I don’t know how it didn’t get leaked or anything. I missed about two weeks of sparring and that’s why my cardio didn’t really feel so good tonight.’
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Paul showcased some mobility to land 78 punches on Tyson during their showdown
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He also managed to stay out of Tyson’s distance for the most part
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Paul did have to use his feet early on to avoid the Tyson salvos, but other than that he didn’t need the most impressive of footwork inside the AT&T Stadium.
The Problem Child didn’t show too many signs of the injury, which could well be a testament to his toughness.
The bout on Friday was of course a rearranged affair after Tyson was forced to pull out of their original date with a health crisis of his own.
Tyson detailed the nature of his ordeal on ‘Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson’, a Netflix documentary released during the lead-up to the rescheduled fight.
‘I was training, and I was doing great,’ Tyson said, via New York Magazine. ‘Then all of a sudden, I started feeling kind of tired and I was explaining to my trainer, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
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Fans are just happy that a legend like Tyson made it out of this fight in one piece
Tyson’s symptoms intensified while flying and he thought he might die.
‘Coming here from Miami on the plane, I went to the bathroom, and I threw up blood, next thing I know, I’m on the floor and I was defecating tar,’ Tyson said. ‘So, I came here [to the hospital] and they found out I had a big ulcer — two-and-a-half inches and it’s bleeding. All of my friends were calling me like I’m dying.
‘I asked the doctor if I’m going to die, and she didn’t say no, she said, ‘We have options, though,’ and that’s when I got nervous. I can’t wait to get out of this m— man, I want to fight and get back to training.’
