Sylvester Stallone is one of the most celebrated figures in pop culture and often does not hold back from sharing his opinions on the latest happenings in the world. So when the famous Mike vs Paul fight took place, he had to make his feelings known. In an Instagram post, the actor subtly hinted that the fight might have been ‘scripted.’
Even several fans seem to agree with him, claiming that Tyson lost the fight deliberately. But recently, an Olympic boxer reviewed the fight and revealed it could not have been rigged.
Sylvester Stallone on the Mike vs Paul Fight
Sylvester Stallone and Mike Tyson go way back and have been friends for decades now. Back in 2006, the celebrated boxer even appeared as himself in the sixth film of the Rocky franchise, Rocky Balboa to fight against Stallone’s legendary character.
Hence, having known each other for nearly all their lives, Stallone had more than a few words to say when Mike Tyson lost the fight against Jake Paul inside the AT&T Stadium. In an Instagram post, dedicated to Tyson, the Hollywood legend stated the following about the Boxing legend,
Just to set my personal record straight. Business is business. SOMETIMES you have to do hard things and sacrifice for the sake of helping your FAMILY…. I have known this unbelievable athlete since he’s 19 years old and what we saw was him giving one of the great Oscar winning performances of all time!!!
Wrote Stallone about Tyson’s return to the ring and enduring the full 8-round distance. However, what he added next was controversial for his words seem to suggest that the fight was rigged and Iron Mike had deliberately lost.
Please, Jake, be grateful, HE SPARED YOUR LIFE! Trust me ….. Keep punching Mike, there will never be a MAN like you, a GLADIATOR like you, and a SOUL like you! Keep punching champion of champions! I remember once I bumped into him and thought I was hit by runaway BULLDOZER!!!
While some fans found Tyson hesitant throughout the fight and slow, Stallone’s words might be far-fetched. The reason for the former boxer’s ‘slow’ performance could have been due to his age and a terrible health episode that he suffered earlier this year, which nearly cost him his life (via X).
Olympic Boxer Debunks Tyson vs Paul Fight was Rigged Claims
When Mike Tyson took to the right against Jake Paul, many expected that they would get to see Iron Mike from back in the day again. But some were left severely disappointed when the boxing legend appeared holding back and hesitant against Paul. The result was, although Tyson persisted through the 8 rounds, Jake Paul won.
This has led to several claims that the fight was rigged by fans who are unable to accept that a ‘seasoned’ and ‘experienced’ fighter like Tyson would lose against YouTube-turned-boxer Jake Paul. And recently, Tony Jeffries, Olympic medalist and boxing educator debunked all the rumors in a latest post on Instagram.
Responding to a viral video that apparently made Tyson vs Paul fight look scripted, Jeffries states,
Mike starts to throw the punch as Jake Paul was moving and he realized that spilt second that if I throw this punch, it’s gonna miss because he’s moving out of the way. So what did he do, he decided not to throw the punch. It’s as simple as that.
Despite the Olympic boxer debunking the rumors, there remains a faction of fans who continue to believe that Tyson allegedly chose to take money instead of fighting faithfully in the ring. As fans continue to believe what they want to believe, it must be noted how commendable it was for Mike Tyson to fight and withstand all 8 rounds despite his opponent being several years younger and his deadly health scare earlier this year.
Paul vs Tyson is available to be streamed on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
