Legendary boxer Mike Tyson’s long-awaited comeback fight ended in a loss, with YouTuber Logan Paul winning a unanimous decision on Saturday. The 58-year-old Tyson barely landed any punches as his much younger opponent won by a large margin in the eight-round bout held at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Tyson’s return to action after nearly two decades generated a lot of anticipation, and Netflix took on the responsibility of streaming the fight live worldwide. However, Netflix experienced global outages on their app and website, with fans reporting multiple issues, especially during the main event where Paul won by a wide margin on all three scorecards.
Despite the defeat, Tyson was reportedly paid $20 million to participate in Friday’s fight, which came 19 years after his last officially sanctioned professional bout, a loss to Irish boxer Kevin McBride in 2005. Tyson’s comeback to the ring had been met with dismay across the boxing world, which had dismissed the fight as a macabre circus that risked harming the boxing legend.
The conflict between Tyson and his opponent intensified in May when the fight, originally scheduled for July, was postponed after Tyson experienced a medical scare during a flight. Tyson later disclosed that he had vomited blood due to an “ulcer flare-up.” Despite the concerns, Tyson dismissed the issues, claiming that his critics were mainly envious of his continued box-office appeal, even years after his dominant reign in the heavyweight division during the 1980s. Tyson attempted to evoke that era of dominance in his ring walk, but during the actual contest, his opponent was able to maintain a comfortable distance, preventing Tyson from recapturing his former fighting prowess.