Background

My name is Shayan, and I’m a boxing enthusiast. Here I will be sharing with you my experience in the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight! For some background, let me introduce you to the two boxers who participated in this fight.
Mike Tyson was once known as “the baddest man on the planet” in his physical prime as a young boxer. In the 1980s, he was an unstoppable force in the boxing ring, becoming the Heavyweight Champion of the world at just 20 years old, holding that record until the 1990s. He still, to this date holds the achievement for gaining the Heavyweight Championship title at the youngest age. Mike Tyson was feared by his opponents, as he was reputable for winning by knockout within the first few rounds! However, in the 1990s his career took a sharp downturn due to personal struggles and legal issues. Tyson, not the same great fighter he used to be, retired in 2005. He later made a reappearance to the boxing world, when in 2020 at 54 years old, he was in an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr., another old champion like him. That fight was later ruled as a draw, and ever since then, Tyson had not boxed — until Jake Paul called him out.

Unlike Tyson, Jake Paul’s path to boxing is far from the ordinary. He was best known for his YouTube videos and appearances on Disney Channel in his young 20s, gaining fame and clout through pranks, vlogs, and music videos. He was introduced into the world of boxing through “YouTube Boxing,” a trend in which YouTubers would settle their “internet beef” in the ring. In 2018, he faced off against Deja Olatunji, brother of the famous internet-star KSI. Jake Paul ended up winning this match, and ever since then, his boxing career skyrocketed. Down the line, he ended up beating many famous martial artists, such as retired UFC fighters Ben Askren, Nate Diaz, and Tyron Woodley. Jake’s wins were controversial, considering his opponents were ex-fighters whom were past their physical prime.

The Fight Day

In November 2023, Netflix announced they would be streaming a boxing match held by “Most Valuable Promotions,” involving Jake Paul; Jake’s opponent was revealed to be the legendary fighter Mike Tyson. When I heard of this fight, I knew it would be a great experience and fight to watch in person, so I immediately bought tickets. After some delay and months of waiting, it was finally the day of the fight.

The fight occurred on November 15, 2024, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As I said earlier, it was originally set to premier months prior, but due to Mike Tyson having some health issues, it was delayed. I arrived at AT&T Stadium in Arlington after a half an hour drive, around the time the Preliminary Card was ending and the Main Card was about to start, at 7p.m. CST. When I first arrived, it was hard to find parking, considering that so many people were coming just like me, to watch this fight. Personally, I was rooting for Mike Tyson to not only win against Jake Paul, but teach him a lesson and K-O him. Once I finally found parking, I made my way through the sidewalks of AT&T Stadium to find a lot of people outside selling “Mike Tyson” or “Jake Paul” shirts. I don’t think anyone really bought them, but it was a good marketing tactic in my opinion. I made my way into the stadium, finding that it was really packed and crowded. And after going through a ton of elevators, staircases, and hallways, I was finally at the ground level of the stadium.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

I made my way to the seats, and was amazed about how close I was to the ring and the fact that I was actually watching the fight in person. I got up to go get some popcorn, which was really overpriced, and sat down when the event started with the Preliminary fights, with the first match being Shadasia Green versus Melinda Watpool. The fight was okay, it was not too exciting nor too boring. Around this time I got up and bought some popcorn for the long fights ahead.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

Main Card, fight #1

Then the actual card began with Neeraj Goyat, a fighter reigning from India who was fighting Whindersson Nunes. Goyat made a cultural entrance, with iconic Bollywood music playing during. In the end, Neeraj Goyat had 18 wins and four losses.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

At the start of the fight, Goyat seemed evenly matched with Nunes, as they were trading punches. As the rounds progressed though, it seemed Goyat was dominating the fight, and by the end of the six rounds of the fight, the judges went to the scorecards to determine the winner. It was ruled that Neeraj Goyat won, updating his record to 19 wins and four losses.

Main Card, fight #2

Following this, the next fight was Mario Barrios with a record of 29-2 against Abel Ramos, who had a record of 28 wins in which six of those were knockouts, and one loss. Barrios had a very impressive walkout; he donned an outfit tributing to his cultural heritage. The fight was quite evenly matched up, and the fighters were trading quite an even amount of blows! By the end of the long, impressive 12-round match, it was ruled a draw. The fighters both seemed shock by this decision, and when interviewed, both eagerly agreed to an rematch.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

Main Card, fight #3

The next fight was, in my opinion, the most intense and brutal of all – Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano. The fight started off quick, with the fighters immediately trading punches and getting in toe-to-toe combat. A major injury was dealt to Amanda Serrano in the fourth round, as she now had a big cut right above her eye after a clash of punches. During the whole fight, everyone was standing up and cheering, including me. One thing I noticed was that as the rounds progressed, Serrano got more and more offensive as Taylor got tired and started getting hit a lot. One thing which really had the crowd, including myself, annoyed, was the fact that each time Serrano got close to Taylor, Taylor would get into a clinch with Serrano in order to save herself from the punches, leading to many interruptions within the fight. Then, in the eighth round, the fight almost got stopped, as Serrano got headbutted by Taylor on the cut right above her eye, leading to a big wound. Though, despite this setback, Serrano decided to keep fighting. Both of the fighters made it to the end of the match, and the judges went to the scorecards to see who was the victor. To my shock, Katie Taylor won. The crowd didn’t like this, as many people decided to “boo” at the ring.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

Some cool appearances

After this fight, I got out of my chair and took a stroll around the main floor. I was really lucky to be on ground level of the stadium. I saw celebrities a few feet away from me, such as Shaquille O’Neal, who was repping a beanie and some sunglasses.Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

Then, I saw this big robot walking around and giving everyone high fives. I walked up to it, and it gave me a fist bump. It turns out this Robot is called the “Problem Bot,” the mascot for Jake Paul. I decided to take a selfie with it, and the Robot was pretty chill about it.
Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

The Main Event: Tyson vs Paul

After this, it was time for the main event now that everyone had been waiting for: Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul! Me and my brother decided to go up to the barricades to see the walkout right in front of our eyes. I was lucky enough to squeeze through the big masses, gathering around the barricades and getting to the front, where I was only a few feet away from the actual walkout. It took quite a while for the fighters to walk out, as I remember waiting around 20 minutes until Jake actually walked out. In the mean time, the jumbotron displayed several celebrities who showed up to the event, such as William Zabka and Ralph Macchio from the TV series Cobra Kai, Shaq (whom I had seen earlier), `and many other celebrities.

Walkouts

After waiting a long time, Jake Paul finally did his walkout. He entered in a miniature green car onto the walkaway, riding in it next to his brother, Logan. Jake was dawning a silver hoodie with silver boxing shorts and silver boxing gloves. He was playing the song “In the Air Tonight” for his walkout. Everybody was really loud, but not for a good reason. Most of us near the walkout were booing him, while there was a minority of people cheering him on. Jake didn’t seem to care though, as I didn’t see any reaction on his face– he seemed to be locked in for the fight.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

After Jake entered the ring, the crowd and I anticipated Mike Tyson’s entrance. It took a few minutes of waiting, but finally at last, the entrance door opened, and gas was pumped from the walkout, blasting the song “Murdergram” by Jay-Z. This song was a jab at Jake, with Mike insinuating that he would destroy Jake in the fight. Mike was donning a black tank-top over his black boxing shorts with red boxing gloves. However, I saw a look of discomfort on his face. Upon walking to the ring, he stumbled. I personally felt that Tyson was not in the right mindset nor physical state for this fight, knowing that he was 58 years old and his opponent, Jake Paul, was 27.

Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

Despite this, I still had hope Tyson’s age would not affect him. As soon as Mike Tyson entered the ring, everyone left the barricades, and a big crowd formed around the front of the ring. I ended up getting quite close to the ring, and the atmosphere was really hyper as everyone was cheering for the fight to begin. After the referee did a great intro for both fighters, especially for Mike Tyson, the fighters tapped gloves and began the bout.

The Actual Fight

To everyone’s surprise, Tyson came in swinging, hitting Jake with a few hard punches. We were all cheering for Tyson and surprised by his sudden strength. From what I saw, for the first two rounds of the fight, Mike Tyson was dominating; he was getting in range, and landing strong combos. Then, all of a sudden, Tyson began to tire out. In the third round, Tyson lost his stamina, and Jake was now trading blows back with Mike. Then, the next round, Jake started controlling the fight by keeping his distance and jabbing whenever Mike got close to him. Around here is when I started to become disappointed. I didn’t like the fact that Jake Paul, a young boxer, was beating the legendary fighter Mike Tyson, who was once an unstoppable fighter in his prime. It did not feel right seeing him get beat like this. Though, even if Mike Tyson was not winning the fight, I noticed that he was holding up really well. Tyson did not let himself go down on the ground, nor fully gas out. After a couple more rounds of this, the six-rounded match stopped. Because none of the fighters won by knockout (K-O) or T-K-O (technical knock out), the judges went to the scorecards to determine the winner. When scoring, all of the judges seemed to favor Jake Paul as the winner – I agreed with them, as Jake was dominating for the latter rounds of the fight. The crowd’s reaction to this was mixed, with many booing and others cheering.
Taken by Shayan Gill, at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Fight, 11/15/2024. 

Around this time, I got up to leave to avoid traffic, as in a few minutes everyone else would start leaving. I turned out to be right, as it took around half an hour just to drive out of the AT&T Stadium, even though I left early. That’s my insider experience at the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, thank you for reading.

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