A sports icon came out of retirement last Friday, leading to decibels that are seldom touched at a sporting event, as 58-year-old Mike Tyson, in his first professional fight since 2005, battled Jake Paul in front of more than 70,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlingon, Texas. But by the middle of the fight, boo-birds rang out in the crowd, and with Paul winning by unanimous decision, accusations of a rigged fight ran all over social media. If you know Jake Paul, none of that bothers him.
Bidarian and Paul co-founded MVP together three years ago, and their promotions have helped put women’s boxing on the map with two spectacles by Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, the second of which was the co-main event last week in Arlington. Although Bidarian admitted that the 60 million households watching the fight and the largest gate outside of Las Vegas ever was probably more because of Tyson, he said Paul 'played a massive role' in the historic event.
Show me another athlete, including their amateur or high school career, who has four and a half years of experience that has achieved as much as he has achieved inside and outside of the ring,' Bidarian said. 'Even in that performance against Mike Tyson, who is 58, is very unique for someone who is four years into doing a sport.