Teddy Atlas knows boxing as well as anyone in the world and has responded to some bold on Paul vs Tyson.
Claims that suggest that Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson, the main event recently on Netflix, was somehow staged.
Speaking on his podcast said of the Paul vs Tyson issue for some amongst other things — wise Atlas saying it was not staged, fixed nor rigged:
“Everybody you know got in and is getting ready for something magical, something different, historic—whatever it is. I just want to say the same thing I say to myself: “Hello, suckers!” Hello, suckers, myself included. And I’m not saying, “Hey, look, they made a lot of money.” They did. But I did, too, for my bookie. When we were broke, I did say, “Bet on Paul.” The bookies were telling you way before you needed any pundits to tell you—forget about what your common sense has to say. He’s 58 years old, all that aside, but the guy was a special heavyweight fighter.
So we made a bet. We said, “What if, what if, what if?” But it wasn’t meant to be. However, when the bookies make this 28-year-old kid, who used to be a YouTuber, a 2-to-1 favorite on the betting line, throughout Vegas and everywhere, that’s something to think about. He’s worked hard to learn boxing, and he’s improving, but he’s still not at that level yet. He’s only had 11 well-chosen fights, lost one, but he’s still a kid compared to Tyson. The bookies are begging you to bet on Tyson, they’re practically telling you to bet on Paul.
Matter of fact, after I told our good fans to bet on Paul last week, I had to take an Alka-Seltzer because I was so upset. I was like, “How can I be…” And I like Paul. I really do. I like what he’s done. I love his story, how he worked hard to make a vision become reality. I love the American dream he represents. But when I thought about it afterward, I got a headache. I just picked a 28-year-old kid who only took this up a couple of years ago to beat one of the greatest heavyweights of all time—58 years old or not.
But it was the only direction to go. If you wanted to throw a few bucks on Tyson by knockout, that was the only way it was going to happen. Fine. But before I delve into this for what it is, I have to tell you: forget about how reflexes disappear with age, how speed diminishes, and obviously his technique suffered because he doesn’t really have trainers of any level. The physical part—we all understand the damage time can do to the body. We understand that if you leave a car outside too long, the paint job fades and rust sets in. The same thing happens to the human body.
So, we understood all of that. For me, the most important thing was that if Tyson was going to have any chance at all—if the magic was going to happen, if his strength was going to come back for one last shot at it—his attitude had to be right. His mindset had to be in the right place. He had to be that old Tyson, the baddest man on the planet, the guy who said, “I’m going to hit you on the tip of your nose and drive that bone back into your brain.” Absurd, ridiculous, but that’s what we used to hear from him, and at one point, we believed it. A lot of it was marketing, but he backed it up with his punches.
The thing was, he used to be the guy who believed he would knock you out, no matter what. His approach, his attitude, it was in his DNA. That was the mindset he carried with him—he was going to throw punches with bad intentions and eventually get to you. But to have that, you had to have the intent. And you could see it wasn’t there. Even if he didn’t look great, if he had the intent, he would have thrown punches. But he didn’t throw punches.
You can’t win a round if you don’t throw punches. Whether you’re Mike Tyson or anyone else, that’s a fact. I’ve been analyzing this for 30 years, and it’s based on experience, not just how I feel that day. So the other question is: was it legitimate? I’m going to leave that up to you. If it wasn’t legitimate, then nothing matters. If it was scripted, like WWE, then everything changes. If you believe Paul could’ve knocked him out, I think he could’ve. But let me ask you: did you think he carried Tyson in the later rounds? I think he did.
But now you have to ask yourself, why? It’s like being in a courtroom. Was it murder or manslaughter? Was it premeditated? Was it planned, or did it happen due to other circumstances? Was it because Netflix or whoever told them, “Hey, this could be big,” or was it because Paul just felt bad for Tyson, or was he still worried that Tyson, even looking bad, could land a lucky punch?
Maybe Paul just wanted to play it safe. He knew he was winning, didn’t want to take any risks, wanted to cash the check, get the win, and leave the night with everything he wanted. He didn’t want to give Tyson that one chance. Maybe it wasn’t about carrying him out of mercy or respect, but simply about not taking a risk. He stayed in control, played it safe, and got the win.
But the key takeaway is Tyson. Yes, we know physically he didn’t look great. He’s 58, we get it. But his attitude wasn’t there. He had no chance, even with all his experience. And that’s the thing—no matter how much power you have, if you don’t throw punches, you can’t win.
I’d like to see the punch stats. They say Tyson threw 18 punches or whatever the number was, but I didn’t see that many punches thrown. Tyson was squared up, which made it easy to hit him. His balance wasn’t there, and when you square up like that, you’re an easy target. He had a knee brace on, and I have no idea what that was about. He landed a jab early on, but that was the last time we saw it. It disappeared after that.
Now some people, with their conspiracy theories, might say that was it—that jab staggered Paul. But why did Tyson pull up after that? Maybe he didn’t want to hurt Paul. Maybe the agreement was to make sure Paul didn’t get knocked out. I don’t believe that, but if you want to think that, go ahead. I’m just trying to do my job and give you all the information to come to your own conclusions.
At the end of the day, Tyson just didn’t have it. Whether it was his age, his body, or his mindset, he wasn’t the fighter he used to be. He didn’t throw enough punches, and without that intent, there’s no way to win.”
There you have it.
Simply because Jake Paul took it easy on Tyson does not make anything fixed or rigged, that was just a classy move from Paul to spare a legend from being knocked out.
Like Atlas says, Tyson just did not have it anymore at that age — at the end of the day, bottom line.
Simple as that.
Alas, Atlas is as brutally honest and knowledgeable within the sport as they get.
