On Friday, November 15, 2024, the event that was Mike Tyson VS Jake Paul premiered, leaving a lot of fans disappointed with both the outcome and the event’s performance as a whole.
In this article you’ll receive a summary of each, including my input and the opinions of others, about the main event and its under-card fights leading up to Mike Tyson VS Jake Paul.
Opening up the event on the under-card was Neeraj Goyat versus Whindersson Nunes in a 6 round fight.
Right away, fans were quick to point out that Goyat seemed to be much more experienced than Nunes as his fight record far surpassed that of his opponent with a whopping 22 matches compared to Nunes’s 5. I myself didn’t totally count out Nunes even with his inexperience leading up to the fight, but I was leaning towards Goyat overcoming Nunes due to his more impressive record. Other than that, both fighters fought at a weight between 160 – 165 pounds while Nunes had the advantage in height, reach, and age (being the younger fighter).
Rounds 1-3
Right away both fighters rushed to the center of the ring with Nunes going on the offensive. Nunes started by keeping Goyat at bay with a jab; Goyat feinted to scare his opponent. Goyat was quick to show off a hands-down, carefree style against Nunes as he defended against his punches. Later in the round, Goyat pushed Nunes into the ropes and unnecessarily danced on him, later earning him slander from fans.
Rounds 4-6
At this point in the fight, Goyat out-landed Nunes in every round and it is clear that the gap in experience between these two fighters is what lead to the verdict of this bout. By the end of round 6, Nunes accepted his loss and dropped his hands, taking multiple punches from Goyat.
Verdict: Goyat won this bout with a 6 point lead of 60 – 54.
Overall, fans and commentators alike thought this fight was sloppy yet fun to watch.
I myself agreed that this fight was fun to watch, yet maybe not the best opening for an event of this scale. I feel like it was clear that Nunes was very outmatched and had he had more experience, this fight would have been more interesting.
Fight 2 – Mario Barrios versus Abel Ramos
This 12 round bout held a lot of hype as both fighters bolstered impressive records and achievements. Fighter Mario Barrios held the World Boxing Council Welterweight Title since June 2024, while Ramos defeated 2 undefeated fighters as well, thereby placing high in a National Golden Gloves Tournament.
To start, both fighters weighed in around 146 pounds. Barrios had the advantage of height, reach, and was the younger fighter.
One thing that really stood out to me was the ring walks for this bout, specifically Mario Barrios’s ring walk that showed others around him wearing Aztec garbs from his culture. This definitely hyped the fans and really made me think Barrios was going to bring the heat for this fight.
Rounds 1-4
Already in the early rounds this was a complete contrast to that of the first bout, both fighters seeming evenly matched.
Quickly in the first round, Barrios used his reach to get very close to knocking down Ramos and later knocked him down in the second. Ramos quickly responded with multiple punches combined with great footwork, but it unfortunately didn’t have the same impact that Barrios’s punches had. By the end of the 4th round, the scorecard shows Barrios winning with a one point lead.
Rounds 4-8
Barrios continued to make use of his size and reach as he took Ramos’s shots and delivered fast and strong punches. He continued to be dominant during these rounds, with Ramos slowly adapting to his rhythm. Eventually in round 6, Ramos landed a huge right hand followed by two other punches leading to a knockdown. Ramos refused to let up at the end of this round, and Barrios was saved by the bell. These rounds definitely contributed to boosting Ramos’s performance overall.
Rounds 8-12
By these final rounds I was really impressed with this bout and how both fighters seemed to be evenly matched. Ramos passed Barrios in his amount of power punches and became more dominant throughout the fight, and honestly I was really surprised by how much he kept his composure after being knocked down.
Both Ramos and Barrios were battered and beaten but still wouldn’t let up even in these final rounds. By the end of the final round I really didn’t know who would take the win.
Verdict: This fight was ruled a draw with Marrio Barrios keeping his title.
I, myself, was very happy with this fight and honestly thought either fighter could’ve won. I really have no complaints.
On to bout 3 for the co-main event: Katie Taylor versus Amanda Serrano
Unfortunately, by this time in the event both me and others tuning in started experiencing some technical difficulties with Netflix itself. On my first watch of this bout, I probably only experienced 2-3 rounds of this fight and had to watch it again for the full experience, which I really wasn’t happy about especially since this was the precursor to the main event.
To give some background on this fight, this was the second fight of another bout in 2022 where Taylor won by decision. A lot of fans were very disappointed with the outcome of this fight and thought Serrano was robbed of a win. Fans were anxious to tune in to the rematch to see Serrano be redeemed.
Rounds 1-5
Going into the first round, both fighters seemed to be evenly matched, much like the last match, providing a very enjoyable experience for viewers. That is until Serrano landed a big left hand on Taylor, leaving her stumbling. Great exchanges between the two continued with Taylor seemingly grabbing Serrano a lot to stop incoming punches. By the end of round 4, Serrano was left with a pretty nasty gash on her eyebrow from repeated grabbing and a headbutt by Taylor. By the end of the fifth, Serrano out-landed Taylor by a sizable amount, yet the gash continued to open due to Taylor’s repeated clinching.
Rounds 6-10
Serrano continued to out-land her opponent with very fast and precise striking, although the fight was temporarily stopped because the injury on her head opened. In boxing, this could be very serious and the fight could be stopped altogether if the injury is deemed too serious to continue competing. Serrano agreed to continue and the rounds went on with each fighter giving it their best. Eventually, Taylor is deducted a point for the continued head butting, affecting her final scoring.
Verdict: Taylor won in a huge upset.
I, myself, felt that Serrano definitely deserved to win this fight even with her impairment during the bout. I really thought it was dirty how Taylor repeatedly headbutted Serrano and that Serrano won even without Taylor’s point deduction.
Overall, this fight was very enjoyable on my second watch but it was sad to see Serrano work so hard just for her to be robbed of another win.
But now on to the main event that was Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul in an 8 round bout
There is a lot to say about this main event and all the hype surrounding it. Mike Tyson, the undisputed Heavyweight World Champion from 1987 to 1990, secured his place in the boxing world as a Monster in his time, having a 44 knockout to 50 win ratio record. Jake Paul, on the other hand, is fairly new to the sport and has not beaten any notable current professional boxers but is still trying to make his way in the boxing world by fighting one of the best retired boxers.
At the time of this fight, Tyson is 58 while Jake is 27. Reviewing his training footage, Mike seemed in great shape almost looking just as he did in his prime, although I was a little worried when Mike stumbled on his way to the ring. Jake, on the other hand, is a much younger and more spry fighter and seemed like he put on more muscle in preparation for this fight.
Rounds 1-4
To start, Mike Tyson really put the pressure on Jake and it was really cool to see him back in fighting shape and even just seeing him fighting live for the first time in such a while. Unfortunately though, Mike Tyson’s age really started to show almost halfway into the fight. He was staggering back from every punch Jake threw. Going into the fight Mike had multiple health problems, including a bad knee and even a death scare that forced the fight to be rescheduled. It was pretty obvious these would play into the outcome of this fight…just not to this extent.
Rounds 5-8
The trend of Mike Tyson fighting in accordance with his age pretty much continued with not much going on in the later rounds of this fight. Mike seemed tired and hurt while Jake seemed normal for a fighter of his age and experience.
Verdict: In the end, Jake Paul won by unanimous decision with not many cheers from the fans.
Overall, I was really disappointed with how everything turned out. Mike, in the end, only landed 18 punches throughout an 8 round bout compared to Jake’s 78 . It also didn’t help that the streaming made it almost impossible to watch on any device and just waiting there eagerly for the fight to start just added to the disappointment for me as well as other fans watching.
I, myself, had some really strong opinions about this event and wanted to know what other students from EPHS thought. They all had a good amount to say in response to the following questions:
- Did this event live up to the hype? Was there anything that you were disappointed about? What did you like?
- Do you feel like the technical difficulties during the event made you not as interested or upset with the event? (Did this ruin the event for you?)
- What was your favorite fight of the night and did you just skip to the main event? Why?
Maximilian Ziuzia
Likes/Dislikes: Despite many expecting Jake Paul to win due to Tyson’s age, the event still did not live up to the hype that was produced for a long period of time. I couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for Mike Tyson for most of the fight, and it felt dehumanizing to watch him fight the way he did in that match. I also lost $10 on a bet for the match, so that was disappointing, too.
Did the technical difficulties ruin the fight for you? The technical difficulties didn’t necessarily ruin the event for me, but it definitely irritated me and made watching the event a lot more difficult than it needed to be.
What were your favorite moments? Did you skip to the main event? I skipped to the main fight.
Ethan Cortes
Likes/Dislikes: The event didn’t really live up to the hype as it was advertised. I thought the fight would have been more exciting seeing as it was Mike Tyson.
Did the technical difficulties ruin the fight for you? The technical difficulties definitely made me lose interest since the event had already started off pretty boring. The constant lagging made me change to a show after a while.
What were your favorite moments? Did you skip to the main event? My favorite fight of the night was Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos. This and the Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano fight were more exciting and had more action than the actual Tyson vs Paul fight.
Alejandro De La Mora
Likes/Dislikes: There was nothing about this event that lived up to its hype. The fight itself was incredibly underwhelming given how, in my opinion, it was obviously staged so Jake Paul could win, which was something I was incredibly disappointed about.
Did the technical difficulties ruin the fight for you? The technical difficulties did most definitely ruin the event for me given the fact that it was playing perfectly fine for the under-cards but once the main fight started it started buffering.
What were your favorite moments? Did you skip to the main event? I believe the best fight during the event was definitely the match between the two women, which honestly could’ve been the main card if it was not for the seemingly staged fight that was Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul.
Demian Uleychuk
Likes/Dislikes: This event did not live up to the hype because I was expecting Mike Tyson to at least hit Jake Paul with more punches than he did. But since Tyson is older, I’m not surprised by it. One thing I did like, though, was the previous fights leading up to the main event.
Did the technical difficulties ruin the fight for you? Yes, the technical difficulties made me very angry because of the continuous glitches and bugs that kept coming through Netflix.
What were your favorite moments? Did you skip to the main event? I like Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano 2 because even though Serrano got robbed in my eyes, it was very entertaining to watch.
To conclude this review, although fans have grown up watching Mike Tyson dominate the boxing world, it’s clear that age catches up to people regardless of who you are. Tyson seemed like a shell of his former self, providing one of the most boring fights ever and losing to one of boxing’s most hated fighters, leaving a bad taste in the mouth of fans around the world. Repeated streaming issues on top of the already disappointing fights further contributed to people’s overall disdain for an event of this scale.
Fans have speculated that this event was just a big payday, but that’s not to say that these bouts didn’t provide at least some riveting moments for people to enjoy.
Works Cited
- Aldam, Will. “CT boxers share different opinions on the Tyson vs. Paul Netflix fight.” CT Insider, 15 November 2024, https://www.ctinsider.com/sports/article/mike-tyson-jake-paul-fight-netflix-boxing-19919623.php. Accessed 10 December 2024.
- “How many punches did Tyson land against Jake Paul in boxing fight?” Evening Standard, 15 November 2024, https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/boxing/how-many-punches-did-tyson-land-against-jake-paul-fight-boxing-2024-b1194417.html. Accessed 10 December 2024.
- “Katie Taylor deals Amanda Serrano vile cut en route to victory in rematch.” The Independent, 16 November 2024, https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/boxing/amanda-serrano-cut-katie-taylor-rematch-b2648192.html. Accessed 10 December 2024.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Tyson. Accessed 10 December 2024.
- M.Ziuzia,Personal interview,Dec 5,2024
- E.Cortes,Personal interview,Dec 5,2024
- D.Uleychek,Personal interview,Dec 5,2024
- A.Delamora,Personal interview,Dec 5,2024
