No one was surprised by Mike Tyson’s loss to Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Instead, it was a disappointment about commercialism in the digital age.

 

 

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The crowd of more than 72,000 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, went from excited to angry, eventually booing the arena. They, like the tens of millions watching online, came to the fight for the fame of Mike Tyson and curious about the heavyweight champion’s return after a 7,097-day layoff. Instead, what they saw was eight boring, two-minute rounds.

The 58-year-old man was still full of energy, but his body was no longer following the commands of his mind. The legendary “Iron Mike” only threw a total of 18 punches, completely outmatched by the 78 that landed on target by his opponent, a YouTuber turned boxer. Worse, Tyson seemed exhausted after just the first round. In the last 5 rounds, he threw only 6 punches.

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“This is so sad,” former NBA player Earvin “Magic” Johnson wrote on X, “I turned off the TV because I couldn’t watch anymore. It was painful to see Mike Tyson like this because I watched all of his fights. Today’s fight is not a good thing for the sport of boxing.”

“I love Mike Tyson, but the commentators are trying to exaggerate his ability at 58,” said four-division boxing champion Terence Crawford. “He looked like a loser in a crazy fight. I’m glad he wasn’t hurt.”

In fact, Tyson’s opponent Jake Paul slowed down his punches, even holding back from a knockout attempt, when he noticed the former champion was tired. “I wanted to give the crowd a good show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone who didn’t deserve it,” Paul said.

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On the social media front, the AT&T Stadium event was a huge success. According to Paul, more than 120 million concurrent viewers crashed Netflix’s website. Meanwhile, the livestream brought in $18 million, more than double the previous record of $9 million set by the Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders fight in 2021.

The digital age with its commercial elements maximized allows organizers to do anything, ignoring the sport element. They also do not feel the slightest bit cruel to put an old man in his late sixties in the ring, endure punches and receive pity, instead of applause like in the glorious past.