Mike Tyson, arguably the most destructive, ferocious heavyweight ever, has had a career marked by explosive performances and memorable moments. However, as time wore on, his statistics in the ring evolved, reflecting the natural progression of an athlete.
Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr.: A Glimpse into Later Years
In an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020, Tyson came out of retirement to take on fellow legend Jones Jr. Despite Tyson appearing to edge the fight, it was ultimately scored a draw. The rules of the contest were very similar to those which have been announced for Tyson's forthcoming fight against Jake Paul, despite it being classed a professional bout.
During the fight Tyson outlanded former four division champion Roy Jones 67-37 in total punches. This eight round exhibition had its brief moments and the 54 year old Mike Tyson, a former undisputed heavyweight champion, was clearly the stronger fighter.
The contest had modified rules, with two-minute rounds and gloves that were larger than regulation. Tyson was going after Jones, who was sticking and moving. There was a lot of holding with Jones getting hit to the body when he would grab on. Tyson was throwing a lot of punches.
Jones continued to hold often in the second, as Tyson was charging in with big shots. In the third, Tyson was looking for the big shots with Jones still doing a lot of holding. During the fourth, Jones was hurt from hooks to the body, but managed to weather the storm.
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During the fifth, Tyson continued to connect with the much bigger shots. Jones seemed to be completely exhausted in the sixth as Tyson was doing most of the work. Jones tried to let his hands go in the seventh, but Tyson came back firing with hard shots the body.
Mike Tyson landed fewer than 10 punches per round when he was last in the ring against Roy Jones Jr. Although Tyson outlanded Jones Jr by 67-37 over the eight rounds, he failed to land a jab in two of the rounds, instead relying on his power shots. And with Jones failing to land a jab in three of the sessions, Tyson had little to worry about coming back from his younger opponent, something which is unlikely to be the case against Paul.
The Fight Against Jake Paul
Mike Tyson will take on Jake Paul in November, despite being 30 years older than his rival and not having fought professionally for 20 years. Tyson and Paul were due to clash in July but the former undisputed heavyweight champion was forced to delay the bout after suffering an ulcer flare-up. He has since insisted he has recovered and will be healthy for the rescheduled date of November 15.
The former undisputed heavyweight champion promised to be his old vicious self against YouTuber Jake Paul. Sadly for Mike, he was just old. Tyson struggled to get going from the off and was gassed out at some point during every round. Two of those two-minute sessions saw Tyson fail to land a single punch. His round with the best output saw the New Yorker land five punches in round three. None of them affected his 27-year-old opponent.
In the end, Paul clearly carried Tyson across the finish line as he inflicted a seventh career loss on the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ on Friday. The defeat was the first time Tyson had lost via decision, as all his others had come via knockout or disqualification.
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Tyson did show early flashes of his famous aggression, but he failed to land anything clean Paul found a rhythm in the middle rounds and Tyson began to look unsteady on his feet Inside the ring, Tyson had a decent first round and many believe he won it. Still, he only landed four punches in the two minutes. His best round of the fight was the third when he landed five. Unfortunately, Paul landed 16.
There was two rounds - the fourth and the sixth - where Tyson landed no punches at all. Totally sapped of his energy, he threw eight punches on both occasions and failed to connect at all. Tyson landed a total of 18 punches over eight rounds. Paul had 78. Conversely, Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion, threw 79 punches in the five rounds it took to defeat Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
Tyson simply couldn't match someone 31 years his junior - and there's no shame in that There's levels in the professional game and the numbers are a stark reminder Tyson shouldn't have been competing.
Peak Performance: Tyson in His Prime
At his peak, Tyson was an indomitable machine. During his first reign as heavyweight champion starting in late 1986, he became one of the most dominant boxers in the sport's history. For the next three-plus years, Tyson collected a record of 10-0 with nine KOs, to become undisputed champion.
He landed 16.3 of 34.5 punches per-round. That's a 47.2% hit rate, nearly 15% higher than the heavyweight division average at the time. That included a devastating 12.4 power punches a round, three more than his contemporaries.
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The stats do not paint a pretty picture. But that's what we should have all expected. It only speaks to Tyson's incredible legacy and perpetual intrigue that fans allowed themselves to even remotely believe he, if anyone, could defy father time. Alas, Tyson could not give us one last great dance. In fact, he had to do his upmost just to remain upright.
It was fantastic to have a Tyson fight week again and amazing to see him in shape. With all the respect in the world, this Tyson looked his age and the health problems he had prior to the original postponement of this fight become a more vivid picture.