Internet personalityJake Paul and his opponent, the legendary boxerMike Tyson, have both received anofficial suspensionfrom the sport after their highly anticipated and controversialNetflix fight.
HighlightsJake Paul and Mike Tyson suspended 24 days after controversial Netflix fight.Fans believe the eight-round fight was ‘rigged’ and ‘staged’ for entertainment.Netflix sued for $50M over poor streaming during the fight, causing viewer frustration.The fight rules incentivized an eight-round duration with extra pay for both fighters.Celebrities criticized the fight, calling Tyson’s performance an ‘Oscar-winning’ act.
“Mandatory rest — all contestants shall receive a mandatory rest period calculated as three days of rest for each round fought with no less than a seven-day mandatory rest period,” the measure reads.
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Mike Tyson and Jake Paul have been suspended for 24 days after a “disappointing” fight that some fans believe was “rigged”
Image credits:Sarah Stier / Getty
However, thesuspensioncan be appealed, requiring the interested party to request a hearing to prove their fitness.
The rule was an attempt at standardizing rest periods between bouts as awareness of brain injuries in combat sports increased. While no single incident directly triggered the establishment of the rule, it was part of a broader effort to address the dangers associated with cumulative trauma to the brain.
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Despite both fighters completing the full eight rounds of theirbout, audiences were disappointed, feeling that the fight had been artificially extended, a concern that Jake Paul himself later confirmed.
“I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” the younger athlete revealed in apress conference, explaining that he purposely held back from knocking out the 58-year-old out of respect for his career.
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Netflix experienced buffering issues and interruptions during the fight’s transmission, leading one man to sue the streaming service for $50 million
Image credits:Most Valuable Promotions
Not only were fans disappointed with the fighters’performancebut also with Netflix’s streaming of the event, with users experiencing buffering issues, cuts, and interruptions.
One Florida man, however, wasn’t content with venting his frustrations online and decided to sue the streaming giant in a$50 million class-action lawsuitover the poor quality of the transmission.
Image credits:Al Bello / Getty
According to Netflix, the bout was its biggest live sports event to date, serving as a stress test for its streaming capabilities ahead of upcoming events from the NFL and WWE, which will soon be hosted on the platform.
Celebrities like Sylvester Stallone and Stephen A. Smith were among the first to critique the fight, with the former calling it a “performance” and the latter calling it “sad towatch“
Sylvester Stallone, the acclaimed actor known for hisRockyandRambomovies, added to the accusations of the fight being “staged.”
The movie star said that Tyson gave “one of the greatest Oscar-winning performances of all time,” implying that the fight was more about entertainment than actual competition.
He went on to say thatPaulshould be thankful that Tyson “spared [his] life” in exchange for taking home a large sum of money.
Image credits:Mike Tyson
The match rules stated that if the bout lasted for eight rounds, both fighters would receive an extra$10 millionfor a total of $20 million and an additional $20 million for the winner. This speculation immediately alarmedskeptic viewers, as it provided an incentive for Tyson to prolong the fight.
Image credits:Jake Paul
Among the fight’s harshest critics was sports journalist Stephen A. Smith, who stated that the bout was “sad to watch” during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take and urged Paul to get in the ring with “real boxers.”
“You can’t continue to build a career without getting in the ring withreal fighters,” Smith said.
“There was an undeniable moment whenTysonswung and could have very easily knocked Jake Paul out but instead pulled back and missed purposely,” a viewer wrote. “In the ring, Tyson was a completely different person to what we saw while he was training.”
“It was like a WWE fight, scripted,” another replied. “if it were real, Tyson would’ve battered him, just a money maker.”
“100% fixed, which was expected. Sadly, Jake Paul is referred to as a pro boxer, having not faced any current boxers.”
“How about prison for fixing a fight?” asked one viewer, as others joined in to express disappointment over the fight
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