ARLINGTON, Texas (Reuters) – Jake Paul beat boxing legend Mike Tyson by unanimous decision to win an intergenerational heavyweight battle in Texas on Friday that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

The fight between social media influencer-turned-fighter Paul, 27, and former heavyweight champion Tyson, 58, was streamed live on Netflix and took place in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium of Arlington.

These fans were largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and was never able to generate any offense against his younger opponent, landing only 18 punches to Paul’s 78.

“First and foremost, Mike Tyson, it’s an honor to be able to fight him,” Paul said.

“It was as rough and tough as I thought it would be.”

Tyson, who wore a knee brace, never mounted much of a challenge after being rocked by some left hands in the third round, but did enough defensively to avoid taking serious damage.

He admitted after the contest that he struggled because of a leg injury.

“Yeah, but I can’t use that as an excuse. If I did, I wouldn’t be here,” Tyson said.

“I knew he was a good fighter. He was prepared, I came to fight. I didn’t prove anything to anyone, only to myself. I’m not one of those guys who lives to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do.”

Tyson, one of the most formidable heavyweight champions of all time during his peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was in his first professional fight in nearly 20 years. He was noncommittal when asked if he would return to the ring.

“I don’t know. It depends on the situation,” he said.

Paul (11-1) said he could now fight whoever he wanted, maybe even Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez, after being the main attraction at the mega-event which brought together a star-studded crowd and 72,300 fans. fight at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. .

“It’s the biggest event, over 120 million people on Netflix. We destroyed the site, the biggest US boxing portal, $20 million, in US history, and everyone is next on the list.”

TAYLOR BEAT SERRANO

In the co-main event earlier in the evening, Ireland’s Katie Taylor retained her welterweight title by defeating Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano in a controversial unanimous decision after a violent affair.

Serrano came forward throughout the fight, but their heads crashed violently early on, resulting in a deep cut to Serrano’s right eye. The referee then took a point away from Taylor for headbutting.

In the end, all three judges scored it 95-94 for Taylor, who denied accusations from Serrano’s corner that she was fighting dirty.

Taylor won the two men’s previous meeting at New York’s Madison Square Garden in April 2022 and said there would be a third meeting.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; additional reporting by Nick Mulvenney; editing by William Mallard)