Young vs Old: Jake Paul Defeated Mike Tyson

There are probably two reasons why the majority of you were cheering for Mike Tyson to defeat Jake Paul in Friday night's boxing battle in this strange, drug-free decade we live in. The first is that you think Jake Paul is annoying and that you wanted to watch Tyson hurt the YouTuber, which is a totally valid conclusion.

The second is that, like me, there's a part of you that always wishes you could relive the feelings you had in the late 1980s, when Tyson was the world's most evil guy. This is illogical. You probably woke up this morning with a painful knee or stiff back and a reminder to make an appointment for your colonoscopy if you are old enough to recall where you were when Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds.

Furthermore, none of us who are watching him have experienced the 56 professional bouts, three years in prison, and hard life that made Tyson a shabby circus performer before he left in 2005. 

You are ignoring the realities you live with every day if you believe that a 58-year-old Tyson has a chance to square off against a 27-year-old who is in his physical prime, even if his only fights have been novelty acts. Growing older is a reality. It is foul-smelling. It is painful. And if we're lucky, we all experience it.

To have stumbled into a successful second (or third) career as an entertainer and cannabis salesman, Tyson has undoubtedly been extremely fortunate to reach this stage of life.

A boxer, though?

He is no longer that. Be honest. It was always certain.

The majority of Americans wanted it to happen, as did the stadium and the millions of people watching on Netflix (we'll talk about it in a moment). In one way or another, nostalgia holds us all captive. And for that reason, even if the idea of the fight was absurd, it ended up being the most entertaining event boxing has produced in a long time. It was impossible to resist. And it did deliver in some respects.

Despite the fact that most of the spectators were so far from the ring that they might have easily been in Oklahoma, AT& Stadium was filled. There were well-known personalities and content producers around. A few of the undercard bouts were some of the most intense and captivating fights you will ever witness, and it felt and looked like a major athletic event. (Despite the judges getting the outcome entirely wrong, Katie Taylor's contentious choice over Amanda Serrano was possibly the best sporting event of the year, pound for pound.)

It served as a reminder of why, despite the fact that such moments are becoming increasingly uncommon as the years pass, boxing can still occasionally achieve the highest of highs.

Subsequently, the big event took place, and the greatest thing you can say is that no one was gravely injured.

Early on, Tyson made a few solid strokes, and Paul appeared terrified for a round. Paul stabilized and maintained his distance in the second. Tyson fought hard in the third, trying to land the knockout blow, and then it came down to the most basic idea in sports.

The young outdo the Aged

Paul won despite doing very little. He did not win because he was a great boxer or because he delivered a lot of strong blows. Despite the inevitable distraction in this fight, Paul prevailed in a rather dull and simple decision for one reason: he was up against a 58-year-old. If you missed it because of Netflix's ridiculous technical difficulties, don't worry; you didn't miss much.

The lost chance for Netflix to establish itself as a legitimate force in the live sports market is the circus's most enduring legacy. Anecdotal accounts on social media from viewers attempting to watch the fight indicate that buffering, freezing, and technical failures were common, though it is difficult to determine the precise extent of the issues.

"There was (a) point where I was like, 'He's not really engaging back,'" said Paul. "I don't know if he was tired or whatever, and I could just tell his age was showing a little bit."

Paul even mentioned that he backed off a bit since he wanted to entertain the crowd and didn't want to disgrace the great. Additionally, he claimed that his lack of aggression was a result of missing training time due to a sprained ankle three weeks prior. Don't purchase it. Paul's career will look like this until he steps into the ring with a legitimate boxer and demonstrates that he is more than just a fine guy by celebrity standards: We were scammed all the way to the bank by one scam after another.

People were upset, and rightfully so. It is difficult to regain credibility when you have hyped an event this much and are unable to provide a seamless viewing experience.

We'll have to wait and see where Netflix goes. We'll see if Paul can steal the tens of millions he's making here and find another means to assist him produce material, or if he wants to risk his image by taking on a true professional.

However, the crowd voted with their feet, and many of fans were already leaving AT&T Stadium before the winner was even declared. It was that blatantly clear and unimpressive. But you are to blame if you didn't anticipate it. Even an iconic 58-year-old former athlete has no place in the boxing ring.

Hopefully, we won't be duped into something similar ever again.