Following his victory over boxing icon Mike Tyson, Jake Paul made some surprising comments.
The match between Paul and Tyson took place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on November 15, marking one of the most significant boxing events of the year.
With Paul being 31 years younger than Tyson, the former heavyweight champion had not engaged in a professional fight for nearly two decades.
When asked why he came out of retirement, the 58-year-old replied simply, ‘because [he] can’.
However, Tyson might now regret his decision after Jake Paul, an inexperienced boxer, emerged victorious.
The fight lasted eight rounds and was streamed on Netflix, with scores of 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73 all in favor of Paul.
Despite the loss, Tyson does not believe this will be his final appearance in the ring.
After the bout, he was questioned about his future in boxing, to which he responded: “I don’t know. It depends on the situation.”
He reaffirmed, “I don’t think so,” when asked again.
Tyson also commended Paul for his performance, describing him as a ‘good fighter’.
“I didn’t prove nothing to anyone, just myself,” Tyson stated.
“I’m not one of these guys who goes out to please the world, I’m just happy with what I can do.”
In a post-fight press conference, Paul addressed claims that he didn’t put forth his full effort and had ‘pulled’ some of his punches.
These comments led some viewers to label the much-anticipated match as ‘the worst fight’ in history.
“I was trying to hurt him a little bit,” Paul, 27, explained to The Independent.
“I was scared he was going to hurt me, I was trying to hurt him…”
When asked if he eased up in the later rounds, Paul responded: “Yeah, definitely, definitely a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want [to hurt him].”
According to BBC Sport, Paul managed to land 78 punches compared to Tyson’s 18, indicating that he may have indeed caused some damage.
Leading up to the fight, Paul and Tyson exchanged heated words, and Tyson even slapped Paul. Nevertheless, they showed mutual respect following their match in Texas.
Paul expressed that it was an ‘honor’ to fight Tyson and referred to him as an ‘icon’.
After the fight, the two embraced, indicating that any previous tension had been resolved.