As a cheering and hopeful crowd of 72,300 deflated inside Arlington, Texas’s AT&T Arena Friday, it was hard not to think about Donald Trump. The president-elect wasn’t in attendance at Netflix’s hotly-anticipated boxing event, which boasted former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and 27-year-old influencer Jake Paul at the top of the card, but the storyline sure felt like a funhouse mirror version of last week’s presidential election (just with far lower stakes). For the second week in a row, people gathered in front of the TV, many expecting that an established professional would roundly school a loudmouthed and inexperienced upstart. And for the second week in a row, they were sharply disappointed.
Unlike many folks who watched Netflx’s first-ever foray into live sports entertainment, my stream only stalled once, with a “99%” icon appearing over a paused still of Joe Jonas’s face. The singer wasn’t the only celebrity at the November 15 event: Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, the stars of the Netflix series Cobra Kai, were there in a presumable act of corporate synergy. So were Josh Duhamel, Shaquille O’Neal, Charlize Theron, and Simu Liu, which sounds like the beginning of one of those “walks into a bar” jokes but is more likely the subject line of an internal memo at the streaming giant.
So it’s not like viewers could claim technical issues as the headlining match—which had been rescheduled from its original date of July 20 after the now 58-year-old Tyson fell ill during a cross-country flight—sucked the air from the room as of the opening bell. It didn’t help that the Paul/Tyson bout followed an explosive and kinetic match between longtime rivals Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor that brought the crowd to its feet, with Taylor triumphing in a perplexing and controversial decision by the judges. It would have been a tough act to follow, even for a pair of equally matched athletes. But as soon as Tyson stepped into the ring, it was clear that this wasn’t that.
Beyond the contrast of age, background, and experience, the difference between the fighters’ approaches was clear as they entered the ring. Paul—brimming over with braggadocio and accompanied by an entourage—rolled into a roaring round of “boos” via a green convertible that wouldn’t have been out of place in a medium Midwestern town’s Pride parade. Tyson, in a black sweatshirt, walked the path to the ring alone, as the crowd went wild. The commentators made no mention of Tyson’s rape conviction or apparent admissions of domestic violence, but if they had, I don’t think it would have mattered. This was a horde that wanted to see Tyson win, and for Paul to go down.
But as soon as the pair stood in the ring, it was last Tuesday all over again. Tyson was flat-footed and on the run from the start. Paul was completely dominant with an impressive height and reach advantage (not to mention the 31-year age difference). The champ never stood a chance.
In a press conference following the match, Paul admitted that by the third round, he realized he needed to dial things way back. “I wanted to give the fans a show,” Paul said, “but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.” When asked if he felt Tyson’s power in the ring, Paul simply responded, “No.” (Tyson did not attend the press conference, nor did his representatives respond to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.)
“There’s a sense of disappointment in the room,” commentator Kate Scott said from the media stand as the crowd grew restless and, at certain points, sad. “Everybody was kind of hoping, to the last minute, man, that [Tyson] going to find something special, and, well…”
“The crowd, they were confused throughout the fight,” says light heavyweight champion turned commentator Andre Ward. “Their heart is with Mike and they wanted something to cheer about. But Mike wasn’t giving them much to cheer about, because of the age, and the wear and tear.”
“They didn’t want to boo Mike,” Ward said. “They were kind of restless, and they didn’t really know what to do.”
Others, like Magic Johnson, were so crushed by the reality of the match that they had to turn it off. “Just sad smh,” the legendary NBA star wrote on X. “I cut it off because I couldn’t watch anymore. It’s sad to see Mike Tyson like this because I went to every Tyson fight. This fight tonight was not great for boxing.”
It’s likely that Paul disagreed. In the moments after the judges announced the unanimous decision in his favor, Paul took the mic to first praise Tyson, saying, “he’s the greatest to ever do it,” before making a brief speech that echoed his tweet celebrating Trump’s win last week.
“It’s the era of truth. It’s the era of good. There’s a shift in the world, and good is rising,” Paul said. “The truth is rising, I’m just honored to be a party of America. It feels like we’re back, baby.”
Presenting the 31st Annual Hollywood Issue
The 2025 Hollywood Issue: Zendaya, Nicole Kidman, and 10 More Modern Icons
Glen Powell’s Secret: “I Try to Think Audience First, Rather Than Me First”
Zendaya on Acting With Tom Holland: “It’s Actually Strangely Comfortable”
Nicole Kidman Talks Babygirl, Losing Her Mother, and a “Terrifying” New Role
Dev Patel’s Long-Ranging Career, From “the Little Rash That Won’t Go Away” to Monkey Man
Sydney Sweeney on Producing and Misconceptions: “I Don’t Get to Control My Image”
Zoe Saldaña Won’t Quit Sci-Fi, but She “Would Like to Just Be a Human in Space”
A Cover-by-Cover History of Hollywood Issue
The post Donald Trump Skipped the Jake Paul/Mike Tyson Match, But He Was Certainly There in Spirit appeared first on Vanity Fair.
