An attorney has spoken out about Jake Paul’s post-fight comments about his victory over boxing legend Mike Tyson.
On Friday, the 27-year-old YouTube star went toe-to-toe with ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’, Mike Tyson.
Despite the huge anticipation for the fight – with it being Tyson’s first professional fight in 19 years and with the hope that the boxing GOAT could knock out a cocky YouTuber – the actual fight fell flat.
Taking place in front of 72,000 people at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – with a further 60 million households tuning in on Netflix around the globe – the fight went eight rounds with very little action.
By the third round, it was clear that Tyson was struggling to keep up with his opponent – who is 31 years his junior – and by the final bell, the crowd went mild as Paul was declared the winner by unanimous decision.
With no knockouts – despite both sides promising unbridled dominance over the other – the fight led to an all too familiar criticism of YouTube stars in boxing: that the fight was “staged”.
These rumors were further fueled by comments Paul made on his podcast after the fight, where he apologized to his fans for not KO-ing Tyson.
“I’m sorry I didn’t knock him out, guys. I’m really sorry,” Paul said. “After I’d seen him a little bit tired, I didn’t want to put too much hurt on him. But I wanted the fans to get a good experience.
“There was a point where all of my aggression and super-violence, and the ‘I’m gonna knock this guy out and show him’, it went away when I wasn’t getting hit much at all. I love Mike.”
He continued: “In the first round, I was gauging his speed. And once I got his timing pretty quick and saw how I could tag him up and touch him, the rest is pretty much history. I just outboxed him and had fun.
“[The plan] For the first three rounds, to go slow and let himself tire himself out. Jab, move, staying on the outside. Drop in some shots when I could.
“That’s exactly what I did. By the third round I was in control of the fight because he was frustrated. He was hard to hit – I don’t know how he could bend over that far.”
Now, Dan Lust – a Sports Attorney at Moritt Hock & Hamroff and Law Professor at New York Law School – has told The New York Post that he believes Paul’s comments could now see him in legal trouble.
“It wouldn’t shock me one bit to see a lawsuit filed on this fight,” Lust said.
As The Post highlights, Paul v. Tyson received an incredible four times the betting interest than any other boxing match — with BetMGM telling the outlet that the fight was the most bet-on bout in combat sports history, by far (including all UFC fights).
And the most likely result – in terms of betting odds – was listed as Paul to win by knockout (+125).
Lust explained: “I watched the fight very closely, lines were skewing toward knockouts […] because logically it would point toward ‘Tyson is too old to take a big punch’ or ‘Jake hasn’t felt someone with Tyson’s power.'”
As The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) sanctioned Paul v. Tyson as an official fight – ie. a true boxing match – Lust believes that Paul could have talked himself into a legal hole by saying that he essentially carried Tyson to the end of the fight and didn’t end it when he had the chance.
“Paul taking bows and not fighting to the last minute, the optics are just odd,” Lust told The Post. “Would it shock me if there was a class action lawsuit? No.
“It’s not on me to form one, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see one.”
I guess we’ll have to see what happens from here…
Full card and results from Friday night:
Jake Paul def. Mike Tyson via unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73)
Katie Taylor (c) def. Amanda Serrano via unanimous decision (95-94, 95-94, 95-94)
Mario Barrios (c) vs. Abel Ramos ends in a split draw (114-112, 110-116, 113-113)
Neeraj Goyat def. Whindersson Nunes via unanimous decision (59-55, 60-54, 60-54)
Shadasia Green def. Melinda Watpool via split decision (97-93, 94-96, 96-94)
Lucas Bahdi def. Armando Casamonica via majority decision (95-95, 96-93, 98-92)
Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington Jr. def. Dana Coolwell via unanimous decision (80-70, 80-70, 80-70)