That hitherto pesky YouTube phenomenon could not have carried Mike Tyson any closer to safety if he had picked him up in the ring and sat him gently on his stool.
By coaxing a legend old enough to be his father through the second half of their fight across the generation divide, Jake Paul put a heart-warming new face on boxing. One of compassion.
This hard old game is not normally a sport for half-measures. Let an opponent off the hook and be sure that good deed will not go unpunished.
When did we ever hear a prize-fighter say anything like this: ‘Yes, I did take it easy on him because my ego was not as important to me as holding back from knocking out an icon, one of the greats, my personal idol. Once the fight was won I did not want to hurt someone who did not need to be hurt.’
No, boxing was not ruined for ever because Iron Mike was incapable of striking a miraculous blow for the oldies. Actually, he hardly landed any punch of consequence in the 16 minutes of fighting which constitute eight two-minute rounds.
No, the Noble Art has not been desecrated because Mister Tyson was lured by the combined wealth of Master Paul and Netflix into something which, at 58, could have damaged his health. And in so doing seduced millions of us of a certain age into wondering if the old Baddest Man On The Planet just might have enough left to put a spring in our step. Rather, the sport has been decorated by Paul’s sympathy for Tyson.
No, it was not the end of the world as we know it that this cleverly conceived spectacle became a carnival of reality. As it happens, the unanimous decision in favour of Paul has probably done more for boxing in the long run than the brief thrill of Tyson springing the upset of the century. It spoke to honesty, which is not always the case when results go to the judges.
Yes, there was a little muted booing towards the end when it became disappointingly obvious that after shading the first round, Tyson had zero chance of winning another. But the majority of the 70-odd thousand fans in the 80,000-capacity Dallas Cowboys Stadium seemed to have enjoyed the yahoo occasion and departed smiling at how Paul stopped throwing punches completely in the final minute so he could bow in tribute to Tyson’s achievements. Of which going the distance so close to pensionable age is now one.
More importantly, many of those who Paul drew through the doors here as well on to the Netflix streaming service come from a new generation of boxing fans.
It is time to re-evaluate this Pied Piper. Not only is he putting fresh backsides on seats but he is talking more sense. This for example: ‘I know some of the things I say make people hate me but I say them because that helps drive what we’re doing for boxing. I do believe this sport needs to be entertaining but I had to sacrifice part of that this time by not going for the KO. I didn’t want to show off. Respect for him was important. But I do think it’s time for me to receive a little more recognition for my boxing.’
Although Tyson’s hard-earned bodily condition camouflaged a deterioration in abilities such as movement around the ring, Paul’s own ringcraft is improving from fight to fight.
After his barnstorming opening round, Tyson hardly laid another glove on him. It was melancholy to see him pawing the air as the bedlam which greeted his first serious appearance in the ring for 19 years waned into near silence at times.
Was Paul guilty of one big con trick? Not really. He was as fascinated as many of us by the thought of seeing Tyson in action one last time and was not to know the full measure of Iron Mike’s rusting before getting into the ring with him.
Nor the dimming of his fabled punching power. We all fall prey to a fascination with history from time to time but on this particular night nostalgia was not what it used to be.
Did Paul take advantage of his favourite legend and now his new best friend? Hardly, since he shored up Tyson’s bank account to the tune of some $15million, while ensuring he did not suffer any of the serious damage to his health which the doom-mongers prophesied with such thinly-disguised relish.
What he did do was embellish this raw business with a touch of humanity and a sense of honour.
He also enabled Tyson to retain his dignity. Then he stood firm and composed in response to some inevitable criticism, saying: ‘I just don’t care what people think and say about me.’
A good night was had by most. If not the enchanted evening for which many had been hoping.
Who would have thought it of this young man in a hurry? Who knows, this evening may be the making of him.
