Shaquille O’Neal has added his name to the growing celebrity audience critical of last month’s boxing rules fight between the returning legend Mike Tyson, 58, and his 27-year-old opponent Jake Paul, an internet sensation.
The age difference, for the four-time NBA champion Shaq, was always going to be too much of a hurdle for Tyson to clear, as the basketball icon compared it to him returning to the paint and expecting to hang with the “young boys” on court.
Though Tyson lasted the full eight-round distance, he was beaten handily by Paul in a bout that he struggled to even land a solid shot in. Paul later told reporters that he took it easy on Tyson, which aired on Netflix to a significant worldwide audience from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
|
Mike Tyson & Jake Paul’s pro records (as of 6/12/24) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Mike Tyson |
Jake Paul |
|
|
Fights |
59 |
12 |
|
Wins |
50 |
11 |
|
Losses |
7 |
1 |
|
No Contests |
2 |
0 |
O’Neal feels short-changed from watching the event.
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Shaq Critical of Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul Mega Event
O’Neale compared it to him returning to basketball and expecting to out-perform the young boys
“I feel like I got robbed,” O’Neal said of the Tyson vs Paul fight, during a recent episode of his The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“Great people like us, we’re remembered for what we do, and what we did. So the fact that Mike was putting out the 15-second clips … I love Mike, but he’s 58,” said Shaq. “I could put out a 10-second Instagram clip, cut it, and I can make myself look like [San Antonio Spurs center and 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year] Victor Wembanyama …”
“But that doesn’t mean I can get out there with the young boys.”
O’Neal said the fight, and the result, did nothing for either fighter’s career, legacy, or the sport. “If Jake Paul really beats a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, is that something to be happy about? That’s like me right now, or when I was playing, playing against a 70-year-old Wilt Chamberlain, and bragging ‘I’m the most dominant!’, but I wouldn’t have felt good about that.”
O’Neal finished by recalling Evander Holyfield’s return to the ring, which was even sadder than Tyson’s as MMA trailblazer Vitor Belfort manhandled the former boxing king with ease, and finished him in the very first round. “When [Evander Holyfield] fought Vitor Belfort, I didn’t feel good about that,” Shaq said. “I just didn’t like it.”
It is unlikely Tyson will ever return to the ring again. Jake Paul, meanwhile, is the talk of pro boxing, as big-name fighters appear all too happy to challenge the cruiserweight/heavyweight. Paul has expressed interest in winning a legitimate world title, and the WBA, among other sanctioning bodies, have indicated they’d be willing to sanction certain opponents as title fights for him.
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