NASCAR And IndyCar Driver Hilariously Responds To Jake Paul Fight Challenge

Mad at myself for staying awake for that,

former NFL star and Burnley FC minority investor JJ Watt wrote

I couldn’t walk the streets because we’d start a riot … It was like Beatlemania.”

His autobiography describes a visit to London in 2000 when he found that

I tried to give the best fight I possibly could but when someone’s just surviving in the ring basically, it’s hard to make it exciting,

Paul continued

I don’t care what people have to say,

Paul said after the event

Yeah, definitely a bit,

Paul said during the post-fight press conference after being asked if he went easy on Tyson

I think it could happen in the next 24 months,

Paul said

Boxing is ebbs and flows, ups and downs, big events, small events, medium-size events,

said Nakisa Bidarian, Paul's promoter

There may never be another moment like this in boxing, but I believe we can find something,

Paul said

We needed to see Mike Tyson get knocked out; that would have been true sport!”

And yes, to highlight the problem with the inauthenticity of this fight – to highlight how it ridiculed actual sport – might sound like implying

He got a phone call from a good friend of his and a big supporter, his excellency Turki Alalshikh, when he was in the locker room just before he went out,

Tyson's team revealed

The fight was not great for boxing.”

American basketball icon Magic Johnson expressed his disappointment on X, saying

I have a habit of biting my gloves,

Tyson said

Let’s give it up for Mike,

Paul said in the ring, not getting much response from a crowd that started filing out before the decision was announced

I have so much respect for him,

Paul said

First and foremost, Mike Tyson — it's an honor to be able to fight him,

said Paul

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."

Magic Johnson typed

You all can say you wasted your time, I didn’t. That’s Iron Mike Tyson. You got to see him box. He’s 58 years old. He made you believe he could do it. He didn’t go down. Dude is an actual living legend."

A fourth fan added

I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn't want to hurt someone that didn't need to be hurt,

Paul said afterwards

He's tough, proud of him, weathered the storm against a young brute named Jake Paul.

He added

I think Jake let him live.

And speaking to Mail Sport after the fight, Jake's brother Logan said of Tyson