TBoos from a crowd eager for more action grew louder again when Jake Paul dropped his gloves before the final bell and bowed to 58-year-old Mike Tyson.

Paying homage to one of the biggest names in boxing history didn’t do much for the fans who packed the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys home Friday night.

Paul won an eight-round unanimous decision over Tyson as the hits didn’t match the hype in a fight between the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer and the former heavyweight champion in his first sanctioned professional bout in close quarters. 20 years old.

All the hatred of the pre-fight buildup was gone, replaced by boos from bewildered fans hoping for more from a fight that had raised many questions about its legitimacy long before.

The fight was not close according to the judge’s cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 advantage and the other two calling it 79-73.

“Let’s give it up for Mike,” Paul said in the ring, without getting much of a response from the crowd that began to gather before the decision was announced. “He’s the best to ever do this.” I admire him. I am inspired by him.

Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a few quick punches, but didn’t try much else the rest of the way.

Even fewer rounds than the normal 10 or 12 and two-minute rounds instead of three, plus heavier gloves designed to reduce the power of punches, couldn’t do much to generate action .

Paul looked more aggressive after Tyson’s quick burst in the opening seconds, but the punch wasn’t very effective. There were quite a few twists and turns and hiccups.

“I was trying to hurt him a little bit,” said Paul, who improved to 11-1. “I was afraid he would hurt me. I was trying to hurt him. I did my best. I did my best.

Tyson would sit and wait for Paul to come to him, with a few exceptions. It was quite the contrast with the co-main eventanother fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano in which Taylor retained her undisputed welterweight championship with another contested decision.

Paul said he slowed down starting in the third round because he thought Tyson was tired and vulnerable.

“I wanted to put on a show for the fans, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t need to be hurt,” Paul said.

It was the first sanctioned fight since 2005 for Tyson, who fought Roy Jones Jr. in a much more entertaining exhibition in 2020. Paul started fighting just over four years ago.

“I didn’t prove anything to anyone, only to myself,” Tyson said when asked what finishing the fight meant. “I’m not one of those guys who wants to please the world. I’m just happy with what I can do.

The fight was originally scheduled for July 20 but had to be postponed when Tyson was treated for a stomach ulcer after falling ill on a flight. His record is now 50-7 with 44 KOs.

Tyson slapped Paul in the face during the weigh-in the night before the fight, and they traded insults at several hype events, before and after the postponement.

The hatred was long gone by the end of this disappointing fight.

“I have so much respect for him,” Paul said. “This violence, this war thing between us, like after he slapped me, I wanted to be aggressive and take him down and knock him out and all that. That kind of disappeared as the tours went on.

The fight set a Texas record for combat sports with a gross of nearly $18 million, according to organizers, and Netflix had issues with the stream of the platform’s first live combat sports event. streaming. Netflix has over 280 million subscribers worldwide.

“It’s the biggest event,” Paul said. “More than 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site.

Celebrities included Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal and former NFL star Rob Gronkowski, as well as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, two enemies from Tyson’s days, welcomed him into his locker room before the fight.

Tyson bit Holyfield on the ear during a 1997 fight and appeared to have one of his gloves in his mouth several times during the Paul fight. He was asked if he had a problem with his spokesperson.

“I have a habit of biting my gloves,” Tyson said. “I have a biting fixation.”

“I heard about it,” the interviewer replied.

Mario Barrios retained the WBC welterweight title in a draw with Abel Ramos on the undercard. Barrios was in control early before Ramos dominated the middle rounds. Each suffered a knockdown during the 12-round fight.

It was the 29-year-old Barrios’ first fight since being named WBC welterweight champion when Terence Crawford began moving up from the 147-pound class.

Barrios, who is 29-2-1, won the WBC interim title by unanimous decision over Yordenis Ugás last year. Ramos, 33, is 28-6-3.