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Tyson vs. Paul - Great for the Sport, Bad for the Sport


I'm glad that I got to watch the Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano fight. It was the kind of fight that I thought captured what old boxing fans (not casuals) like myself loved about the sport. Grit. Blood. Power. And a little bit of no blocking and chaos involved. Both women put it all on the line. And while the outcome was everything so many dislike about boxing, the sketchy results didn't quite take away from what we witnessed. 

Loved it. 

I figured I would just get that out of the way. Because, whether we want to admit it or not, we all fired up our Netflix account, and suffered through some frustrating buggering and lagging times with the occasional black screens telling us that we had no internet connection, JUST to see what would happen. We ultimately knew what would happen. 

Suckers. All of us. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. 

Depending on your expectations, you're likely further in your feelings if you had more of them for this fight. As a pro wrestling fan, I like spectacles. I was down. But truthfully, what did we expect from a 58-year-old fighter. Anyone - ANYONE! - expecting Mike Tyson from the 1980s and early 1990s simply needs to refer to the last paragraph here.

We've seen Tyson in one of these "spectacles" before against Roy Jones Jr. and it didn't look that great. He didn't look that great. However, this one felt like it was more of a swan song and celebration of the legend of Tyson. And you know what? Tyson deserves it. 

That's all I got on this. That's all it's worth. Again, if you find yourself outraged, then see above. Tonight's event was good for the sport in getting casual and first-time eyes on the sport. Bad for the sport because maybe they were let down. But hopefully, smart enough to understand the true example of the sport was Taylor vs. Serrano. 



Some other quick thoughts: 
  • As for Jake Paul - He keeps doing this and people keep watching. There's money to be made. He's doing it. Can't hate him for it. 
  • It's amazing the people who are considered celebrities during this time in history. 
  • I thought the Phil Collins entrance song was a great touch. So much double meaning - for Jake, and of course, a little tie to Tyson from Hangover the movie. Good stuff.
  • Tyson's entrance was really cool and was one of those key moments of the night. 
  • Netflix is officially on notice to get whatever bugs, trials, or beta testing they have to go through to ensure these viewing issues DO NOT happen regarding the NFL and WWE. Those fanbases will not be as kind - if this one was. 
  • It amazes me that the sport of boxing still thinks late-night fights are what is best for the sport. 
  • Cedric the Entertainer on the panel was rough to watch. 
  • I love their enthusiasm, but so was the announcing team. 
  • The overall production by Netflix was great. 
  • When you think about it, with clarity, and removing the names - Jake Paul legit trained to fight a 58-Year-Old man. Wild times. 
  • I genuinely hope Mike Tyson got the payday he needed, and that this was it. 
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