ARLINGTON, United States (AFP) — Mike Tyson’s controversial return to boxing ended in a one-sided defeat on Friday, with Youtuber-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul cruising to victory by unanimous decision against the heavyweight icon in Texas.

Tyson, 58, barely landed a punch during the eight-round bout at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, with Paul winning by big margins on all three cards — 80-72, 79-73 and 79-73.

Paul, 27, used his superior speed and movement to dominate the ageing Tyson with ease, and had the former undisputed heavyweight champion in trouble after landing a flurry of punches in the third round.

Yet the younger fighter was unable to land the knockout blow he had promised to deliver during Thursday’s ill-tempered weigh-in, where Tyson slapped him across the face.

Tyson, however, looked every bit of his 58 years, managing to land only a handful of meaningful punches during the fight, watched by a live crowd of around 70,000 spectators with an estimated millions more tuning in around the world.

Final statistics showed Tyson connected with just 18 of 97 punches thrown while Paul threw some 278 punches and landed 78 of them.

As the final seconds of the eighth round counted down, Paul could even afford to bow in respect to Tyson before the bell sounded.

“First and foremost, Mike Tyson, it’s such an honor. Let’s give it up for Mike,” Paul said after embracing Tyson following his win.

“He’s the greatest to ever do it. He’s the GOAT, he’s a legend. I’m inspired by him and we wouldn’t be here today without him.

“This man is an icon and it’s just an honor to be able to fight him. He’s obviously the toughest, baddest man on the planet; it was really tough like I expected it to be.”

– ‘I came to fight’ –
Tyson, meanwhile, said he was satisfied with his performance despite the one-sided nature of the defeat.

“I came to fight,” he said. “I didn’t prove nothing to anybody, only to myself… I’m just happy with what I can do.”

Tyson had fought with a brace on his right knee but said it had not impacted his performance.

“I can’t use that as an excuse. If I did I wouldn’t be in here,” he said.

Tyson, meanwhile, praised the quality of his opponent Paul, who has successfully parlayed a career as a popular Youtuber and content creator into a string of lucrative boxing contests such as Friday’s event, bankrolled and broadcast by streaming giant Netflix.

“He’s a very good fighter,” said Tyson, who refused to rule out the possibility that he might even fight again.

“I don’t know. It depends on the situation,” said Tyson. Pressed on whether Friday was his last fight he added: “I don’t think so.”

Tyson was reportedly paid $20 million to sign up for Friday’s contest, which came 19 years after his last officially sanctioned professional bout, a defeat to Irish journeyman Kevin McBride in 2005.

The former heavyweight champion’s return to the ring had been greeted with dismay across the boxing world, which had dismissed Friday’s contest as a macabre circus that risked injuring the boxing icon.

Those concerns deepened in May when the fight — initially set for July — was postponed after Tyson suffered a medical scare during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. Tyson later revealed he had vomited blood caused by an “ulcer flare-up.”

Tyson, though, brushed off the concerns for his health, insisting that his critics were mostly jealous that he remains a box-office draw decades after his 1980s peak when he terrorised the heavyweight division.

Tyson tried to recall that era of dominance in his ring walk on Friday, marching into the arena in his signature black trunks with a black poncho draped over his body.

Yet that was as close as Tyson came to reflecting the fighter he once was, with Paul comfortably keeping him at arm’s length throughout the contest.