NFL icon Michael Irvin is convinced there was a ‘secret contract clause’ in the fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson that restricted the latter from showcasing his full capabilities.
The fight, which aired on Netflix to millions around the world, struggled to live up to the hype with Tyson’s age clear for all to see.
The former heavyweight undisputed champion landed just 18 punches throughout the entire fight before losing on points to Paul.
There were boos from the 70,000-strong crowd as the fight drew to a close with a lack of action inside the ring.
Jake Paul beat Tyson Fury in a mismatch of a fightReuters
Paul claimed after the fight that he held back against Tyson to avoid hurting ‘someone that didn’t need to be hurt’.
But Irvin, who won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, feels that the 58-year-old was the one who held back in the fight.
“I was looking for that patent ‘one in the body, one on the uppercut,'” he said on The Herd.
“When he hits that it’s boom boom, boom. I want to see that. But we didn’t get that, not one.
“And I saw someone else say that it was in the contract – ‘no uppercuts.’
“They had it in the contract. Come on guys, why wouldn’t Mike Tyson throw an uppercut?”
Irvin used an example focused on his own return to the football field to explain why he remains convinced the fight was rigged.
“If Mike Irvin had good knees and could still play football but didn’t run a set route, something’s fixed,” he said.
Irvin isn’t the only one who watched last week’s fight and who felt there was something fishy going on.
Michael Irvin feels Mike Tyson held back
THEHERD
A clip of the fight has gone viral on social media which appears to show Tyson pulling out of a right hook.
The slow-motion video had many convinced that a pre-fight agreement was in place for Tyson to take it easy on Paul.
One fan wrote: “So it was really scripted lmaooo.”
LATEST SPORT NEWS:
🚨 Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson – Proof that the fight was rigged, fake and Tyson was holding back throwing the fight for Money
Busted#JakePaulMikeTyson #Jakepaul #MikeTyson #Youtube pic.twitter.com/4mgQIUHCHm
— T R U T H P O L E (@Truthpolex) November 19, 2024
Another mockingly posted: “And people really think Jake Paul won.”
A third said: “Everyone knew it’s a staged game.”
One other message read: “Evidence of a fixed fight.”
Another noted: “I always knew it was fixed!!”