Boxing

Jake Paul defends flat performance against Mike Tyson with bizarre admission

Admin 4 days ago

31 1 minute read

Jake Paul has revealed a confusing excuse for last night's uninspiring performance against heavyweight boxing legend Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium, Texas.

The pair went head-to-head for eight two-minute rounds, with neither fighter showing any momentum to energize the millions of fans watching Netflix's first-ever live boxing event.

Mike Tyson, of course, proved that he is no longer the explosive puncher who once claimed the world heavyweight title at the age of 20.

Meanwhile, Jake Paul failed to show why the boxing world should take him seriously after powering to a unanimous victory over his 58-year-old opponent.

Jake Paul reveals he was injured ahead of Mike Tyson's showdown

During the build-up to their monumental clash, Paul insisted he would give Tyson – someone 31 years his senior – a boxing lesson.

The former heavyweight champion also listed a slew of reasons why he would emerge victorious and even gave his rival a solid slap for good measure at Thursday's weigh-in.

And yet, despite the war of words expressed during the fight week, neither combatant was able to deliver on what they had promised to achieve.

Rather, Paul merely navigated his way to a comprehensive points victory after weathering an early burst of energy from Tyson.

Yet fans were left surprised that Paul, known for his emphatic finishes against limited levels of opposition, was ultimately unable to force the stoppage.

However, in a rather humorous approach to his post-fight press conference, Paul has now claimed that his preparation was in fact hampered by an injury he suffered in training camp.

“Two weeks ago I sprained my ankle, completely tore the ligaments and the anterior ligaments and basically broke the other side of my foot,” Paul told the media.

“[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 so my cardio didn't feel that good tonight.”

Jake Paul explains why he took his foot off the gas against Mike Tyson

While Paul's story is completely credible, it became somewhat watered down when he cited a completely different reason for releasing Tyson.

Instead of blaming his injury, the social media star claimed their fight went all the way because he simply didn't want to hurt his opponent.

However, this attitude is in stark contrast to the attitude he expressed after their consideration, when he emphasized in an almost Ivan Drago-esque tone that Tyson “had to die.”

And so it's difficult to know whether the passive nature of Paul's performance was due to new-found respect for Tyson or his injury.