Angela Xiao (9) | STAFF REPORTER
November 15, 2024 marked the long awaited match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. This highly anticipated event brought in a whopping 74 million viewers, but it was indeed left with much disappointment and uncertainty. Though the scores clearly portrayed Jake Paul as the winner, many, including myself, believe otherwise.
Mike Tyson, 58 years old, has returned to the ring with his first professional match in almost 20 years against Jake Paul, a 27 year-old American boxer. Some may argue that it was due to Mike Tyson’s age that he lost; however, he was in exceptionally good shape during his training. Gene Kilroy, who had been Muhammad Ali’s business manager and who has known Mike Tyson ever since he was 13, stated, “this is the strongest I’ve ever seen you” after seeing Mike’s training. Unfortunately, the same Mike we saw training was not who we saw in that night’s match.
I believe that there are two simple reasons behind this setup: money and views.
They wanted to create this tense and exciting atmosphere so it’d create interest. The series of events, such as when Mike slapped Jake during the weight in, or the confidence Mike had when he said that he will not lose, was all a way for people to believe that Mike would win.
It’s not a surprise that this match was the most bet combat sport at ESPN BET, with the majority of bets placed on Tyson. What they didn’t know was that the outcome was already decided long before, and so the bets would come in, and people would lose their money. It has been rumored that Mike Tyson was getting paid to lose; at his age, fame and winning are probably not at the top of his priorities. Nonetheless, it was a heartbreaking moment for many fans to see the defeat of their longtime favourite boxer.
Though it is certain that both boxers have been huge influential figures in the lives of many, I cannot help but question the outcome of the match. Although the match is over and some time has already passed, there is no doubt that this fight will be forever remembered as one of the most controversial matches in history.
