Promoter Eddie Hearn says he didn’t like what he saw with 58-year-old former heavyweight legend Mike Tyson returning to the ring to lose to YouTuber Jake Paul in a hopelessly one-sided fight last Friday night on Netflix. It was such a mismatch that Paul admitted afterward that he did not want to hurt Tyson when he could have.
In an interview, Hearn didn’t go all out of airing his complete views on the subject of the 27-year-old Jake Paul dragging Tyson out of retirement so he could make money fighting him and use his name recognition to build his own brand.
Fans wouldn’t mind so much if Jake coaxed a recently retired shopworn boxer like Gennadiy Golovkin to return to the ring to fight him. That would be a fun fight to see how Paul would do against the 42-year-old Golovkin.
However, it would likely end badly for Paul because if Golovkin lost the weight he’s put on since his last fight, he’d be lethal against a novice like him. It would be a fight that would sell, and there would be real drama for a change.
“It was a great event. I didn’t like what I saw, and I knew I wouldn’t like what I saw,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, reacting to Jake Paul’s victory over boxing legend Mike Tyson last Friday night in Arlington, Texas. “It doesn’t have to be for me. Look at how many people tuned in. Look at how many people bought tickets.”
Fans would beg to differ on last Friday’s Paul-Tyson event, which was a great one. The only interesting fight on the entire card was the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano fight, and that one was ruined by all the head clashes and the blood.
“I can’t argue with what they did. I just didn’t want to watch it,” said Hearn. “What I did watch, I didn’t like seeing, but it was a huge event. Everyone is different. Some people are boxing people. Some are about views and content.
“There’s no right or wrong. They don’t have to respect the sport on the same level that other people respect it. It’s a business and entertainment. They do great in that respect,” said Hearn.
Read the full article here
