Jake Paul beats Mike Tyson in highly anticipated fight.

Friday night saw YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul pull off one of his career’s biggest wins, beating legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson by unanimous decision. The fight in Arlington, Texas, in front of 72,300 fans saw Paul, now a pro boxer, grow as a fighter.

Scores of 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 were unanimously ruled in Paul’s favor. Paul’s professional record moves to 11-1 with seven knockouts after the win. He’s now just the sixth fighter to beat the icon Tyson.

A Historic Moment for Paul

Following the fight, Paul paid respect to Tyson. It’s such an honor, first and foremost Mike Tyson,” said Paul. “He’s the G.O.A.T. He’s an inspiration to me, sadly I look up to him… we wouldn’t be here today without him. ‘It’s just an honour to be able to fight this man’ an icon.

Tyson, 58, who had knocked out 57 opponents during his prime, looked tired as the fight went on. The move that Roy Jones Jr. noted did not come from him, he was not his trademark movement. “I don’t like Mike’s legs. Jones: I don’t like Mike’s legs at all.

This Paul capitalised on, landing effective jabs and combinations to keep at bay Tyson. Tyson had moments of energy in the last few rounds but could offer no serious threat to Paul.

Tyson Reflects on the Outcome

Asked if the fight proved he could still compete at his age, Tyson downplayed the prospect. “I proved nothing to nobody, just to myself,” he said. “I’m not one of those people that looks for comfort from any of the fans in the world. And I’m just happy with what I can do.”

Tyson is an icon of a glorious career that includes victories over Michael Spinks and Larry Holmes. The last time he won a professional bout was in 2003 and most recently fought an exhibition rematch against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, which they drew.

Netflix has streaming issues.

It was Netflix’s first dip into live boxing, which included a seven bout event. The streaming giant, however, faced wide spread technical difficulties as viewers reported buffering, delays and sound problems.

But on DownDetector, around 90,000 users reported outages in the run up to the fight. Complaints poured in on social media, screens frozen, loading wheels spinning. But there were also audio problems, particularly during an interview with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

But the event still was a huge success, Paul said. ‘This is the biggest event,’ he said. ‘Over 120 million people on Netflix. We crashed the site.”

Main Event Sparks Controversy

The co main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano caused controversy in the night. While Taylor held on to her title with a unanimous decision victory — fans and commentators were floored by the result.

Compubox said that in terms of punches landed, Serrano appeared to be on top much of the fight, landing 324 to Taylor’s 217. But in the eighth round, Taylor received a point for her multiple headbutts, and ultimately lost the match.

Immediately after the May 22 fight, Serrano did not mince her words in criticizing Taylor as a ‘dirty fighter.’ Fans were behind him until the decision and the crowd boos.

What’s Next?

But for Paul, this victory cements his uncomfortable, unconventional career that kicked off with YouTube challenges. Since then his journey has also included wins over MMA legends, a former NBA star and now one of boxing’s most iconic figures.

For Netflix, live sports will be an experiment it continues: two NFL games on Christmas Day, Raw with WWE starting next year.

Friday was a trajectory day in two other worlds besides boxing: streaming and gambling, meaning fans want to see what the Jake Pauls, Mike Tyson, and Netflix’s new sports coverage bring next.