Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul: Oh, What A Night

Ever since it was announced in March, the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul match promised to be the biggest fight in boxing history. The clash in Arlington was an epic event that answered many questions. Ultimately, Paul secured a unanimous decision win over the boxing icon.

With a 28-year age advantage, Paul arrived elegantly, complete with arm candy, to overwhelming boos from the crowd, while Tyson casually proved his immortality through thunderous cheers. Sold-out AT&T Stadium delivered a valuable experience to every viewer, whether they were seated in the custom $2 million seats right outside the ring or in the last row of the rafters.

The atmosphere was electric. The evening began with traffic gridlock that seemed to extend as far as North Dallas. At AT&T Stadium, 80,000 souls were met with two huge replicas of The Problem Child (10-1, 7 KOs)  and Iron Mike (50-6, 44 KOs). The energy was enormous to welcome Tyson, the Baddest Man on the Planet, back to the ring.

The beginning of the fight was tame, with Paul pot-shotting the icon to avoid Tyson’s signature power moves. Tyson delivered a few fan-pleasing power punches but threw a minimal number. It was in the third round that Iron Mike’s fatigue set in and Paul capitalized on his youth.

Paul dictated the fight by the sixth round with great body shots and movement. Tyson maintained a defensive stance for most of the two-minute rounds to focus on a single punch. It appeared that Paul respected Tyson and his legacy by withholding attack of those penetrable areas of Tyson's defense.

The fight concluded as a dream fulfilled by the newer boxing star. Neither fighter honored his promise of a knockout.

“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn't want to hurt someone that didn't need to be hurt,” Paul revealed in a post-fight interview.

The anticipation for the mega-event was explosive, including the slap heard around the world by Tyson on Paul during the weigh-in on Thursday. Tyson had predicted a vicious victory in the pre-fight.

The fight broke records before a punch was ever thrown, selling $17.8 million in gate revenue. This shattered Canelo Alvarez's record of $9 million. The star-studded event was filled with some of the biggest names in entertainment: Shaq, Tori Kelly, Joe Jonas and Daddy Yankee. Even Gov. Greg Abbott was there.

Netflix matched the extravagant production by Most Valuable Promotions with attention-grabbing promotions of its hit series Squid Game, Cobra Kai and Dallas' own America’s Sweethearts.

The undercard kept fans excited with a slugfest draw between WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios and the tough Abel Ramos. The historic rematch of Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor ended with Taylor retaining the undisputed title.

At the end of the fight, Tyson seeemed happy with his performance.

“I didn’t prove anything to anybody, only myself,” he replied when asked whether he was satisfied with his performance. Paul said he gave his best performance and was scared of being knocked out by the icon. He added that his ability to bring sold-out crowds confirmed that he could fight anyone he wanted next.

Both headliners credited their pre-fight antics to mere entertainment to sell the fight. Their previous love for one another and their families was put on hold to allow for trash-talking and displays of killer instincts.

Although fans watching the fight on Netflix experienced technical difficulties, the entire evening felt unbelievable at the stadium. Many attendees were overheard saying they’d never seen anything like it. The athletes' showmanship easily rivaled the Super Bowl, and ratings were similar.

The night was filled with memorable highlights. Tyson showed his ass, literally. He also stuck to biting his gloves instead of ears during the fight.

Win or lose, the mega-event cemented Jake Paul as a worldwide attraction. In his third fight in Dallas, Paul continues to draw excitement to North Texas sports. After the fight, Jake said the biggest names in boxing were offering him fights, which he recognized as fighters wanting to be part of his media momentum.

The demand for Paul's next fight has been compared to Floyd Mayweather's lottery references in his boxing career because his next opponent will be exposed to the biggest audience and paycheck, ever. Whether you believe it or not, Jake Paul is a legitimate boxing star.

“Yeah, I mean I think so, but people just love to hate me," he said about whether the boxing world now takes him seriously. "I'm easy to hate, and I intentionally say things to make people hate me. I play the heel, I feed into that, and that's just what I like to do and that's what entertainment is.

"And at the end of the day, I started as a 17-year-old in Los Angeles in the entertainment business. But I've been in this sport for four and a half years and have been so active doing every event, taking any fight possible. So if people want to see more or this challenge or fight this person, whatever it is, my response to them is just give him a couple more months. I'm going to accomplish more things in just a matter of months and I plan on doing everything in this sport that there is to be done.”

All future live sporting events will be measured against this massive event, and perhaps every fighter’s presentation will be compared to Paul and Tyson’s big spectacle.

“We promise more mega-fights to come,” said MVP co-founder Nakisa Bidarian.

Tyson gave generations of fans the moment they’ve dreamed of, getting to witness the icon in action. No matter the outcome, the event brought the world together for a fun-filled evening.