Mike Tyson says boxing owes fighters like Jake Paul as UFC was 'kicking them'

After 15 long years, Mike Tyson made his much-awaited boxing return on Saturday night when he took on fellow legend Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition fight, which ended in a split draw. Prior to the main event, Blake McKernan battled former two-weight world champion Badou Jack which, according to many was a lacklustre, as it went to an unconvincing decision. However, the co-main event of the PPV proved to be the most explosive as YouTuber Jake Paul extended his pro boxing record to 2-0 by defeating Nate Robinson by KO in the second round.

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Mike Tyson praises Jake Paul and other YouTube boxers

The Problem Child knocked out the former NBA superstar after a barrage of right-and-lefts and received praise from almost everyone, including Mike Tyson. At the post-fight conference, the 54-year-old hailed Paul and other YouTube boxers for bringing new viewers to the sport. Not just that, ‘the Baddest Man on the Planet’ also thinks that the officials should give YouTube boxers a belt for saving the sport as UFC “was kicking our bu**s”.

“Boxing was pretty much a dying sport. UFC was kicking our bu**s, and now we got these YouTube boxers boxing with 25 million views. Boxing’s going back. Thanks to the YouTube boxers,” he added.

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Mike Tyson’s comments are not completely wrong as YouTube boxers indeed draw a huge audience. For example, the Logan Paul vs KSI YouTube PPV - where Jake Paul competed on the undercard - drew more than 2 million viewers and generated a $3.5 million revenue. However, boxing has also thrived with a massive event like Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 2 and Vasyl Lomachenko vs Teofimo Lopez this year.

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While boxing is getting back on his feet with the recent announcement of future high-profile bouts like Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev and Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury, UFC has been more consistent in the COVID era with events taking place almost every week. Sometimes the UFC events make even more revenue when it features superstars such as Conor McGregor, Israel Adesanya or Khabib Nurmagomedov in the cards.

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Image Source: AP, Jake Paul/ Instagram