Mike Tyson‘s trainer has spoken out about the former heavyweight champion’s painful defeat to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and shed light on where the legend goes from here.
‘Problem Child’ Paul, 31 years Tyson’s junior, claimed a unanimous decision in front of a packed AT&T Stadium on Friday night.
The boxing icon, 58, was unable to match Paul’s energy throughout and his condition worsened as the eight-round clash went on.
Tyson, who was the undisputed champion from 1987 to 1990, landed just 18 punches all fight, throwing 97 in total, while Paul landed 78 in a one-sided contest in Dallas, Texas.
His trainer has now broken his silence on the underwhelming clash in the post-fight media huddles and revealed that his team believed they could win the bout beforehand.
Rafael Cordeiro said: ‘We worked for seven months for this moment. I truly believed we had this victory before the fight. He never asked to give up.
Mike Tyson’s coach has shed light on his fighter’s disappointing defeat to Jake Paul
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Tyson, 58, was unable to keep pace with his younger opponent and landed only 18 punches
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Rafael Cordeiro (centre) said Tyson will now ‘go back home to his loved ones’ after the defeat
‘We are really proud of Mike, the way he trained for seven months, he put his life aside for training.
‘He’s the people’s champ. He’s inspired many people outside of the ring. The most important thing that Mike is going back home to his loved ones.’
Following his victory, Paul revealed it was a conscious decision not to inflict any unnecessary pain on the 58-year-old who, in his view ‘didn’t need to be hurt’.
When asked whether he eased up after noticing Tyson tiring, Paul said: ‘Yeah definitely. Definitely a bit.
‘I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.’
And speaking to Mail Sport after the fight, Jake’s brother Logan said of Tyson: ‘I think Jake let him live.’
He added: ‘He’s tough, proud of him, weathered the storm against a young brute named Jake Paul.’
The underwhelming spectacle drew a few boos at the finish, while many of the those who watched the clash online were left feeling empty by the sight of the veteran.
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After an early flurry, Tyson started to look defeated in the ring in Dallas on Friday night
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The YouTuber even bowed to his 58-year-old opponent in the latter stages of the fight
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Paul, 27, admitted that he took it easy on the veteran after realising that he was tiring
Tyson was only in action for 16 minutes on Friday. But to those watching him lumber around the ring with a brace on his right knee, it felt much longer. At one point, ‘he’s 58’ began trending on X in reference to Iron Mike’s age.
Tyson did just about enough to make the first the only round he won.
Thereafter, the YouTuber kept doing enough to ensure his 11th victory in 12 fights but not sufficient to inflict serious damage on the boxing legend.
The veteran was competing in his first professional duel in almost two decades and it showed as he failed to keep pace with his much younger opponent.
