- Paul defeated Tyson via unanimous decision after eight rounds at AT&T Stadium
- Tyson, 58, failed to deliver the punch output that many fans had hoped for
- Stallone believes the former world champion held back from hitting
Sylvester Stallone has added fuel to the fire over allegations that Jake Paul’s dominant victory over two-time world champion Mike Tyson had been reinstated.
Paul, 27, was in charge during last week’s fight with Tyson, who is 31 years older than his opponent, and kept up the somewhat slow pace of the fight throughout the eight rounds.
Paul landed a total of 78 punches over the course of the 16-minute fight, while Tyson only mustered 18 as he did his best to stay upright and survey the controversial event.
Conversely, Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion, threw 79 punches in the five rounds it took to beat Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.
After his comprehensive win, Paul claimed he stopped himself from knocking out the once undisputed heavyweight champion. However, theories that it was in fact Tyson restraining himself were in full swing in the aftermath of the fight.
And now Stallone, who is famous for playing iconic boxing character Rocky Balboa, has claimed that Tyson has ‘spared’ Paul and given acting that even the best performers would be proud of.
Jake Paul defeated former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in dominant fashion
Actor Sylvester Stallone believes Tyson actually stopped himself from knocking out Paul
The Rocky icon claimed Tyson ‘saved’ Paul from serious harm and should get an Oscar
‘Just to set my personal record straight. Business is business,” Stallone wrote on Instagram. Sometimes you have to do hard things and make sacrifices to help your family.
“I knew this incredible athlete [Tyson] since he was 19 years old and what we saw was him giving one of the greatest Oscar-winning performances of all time.
“Please, Jake, be grateful, he spared your life. Trust me. Keep hitting Mike, there will never be a man like you, a gladiator like you, and a soul like you.
‘Keep hitting champion of champions! I remember meeting him once and thinking I had been hit by a runaway bulldozer.”
Stallone isn’t the only star who has continued the rhetoric that Paul and Tyson staged during the Netflix showdown in Texas.
Michael Irvin, an NFL legend, added to the growing list of conspiracies by suggesting that Tyson didn’t throw specific shots because of a clause in his fight contract.
“I was looking for that patent ‘one in the body, one on the uppercut,’” Irvin began to explain in The Herd. “When he hits that, it’s boom boom, boom. I want to see that. But we didn’t get one, not one.”
“And I saw someone else say it was in the contract: ‘no uppercuts.’ They had it in the contract. Come on guys, why wouldn’t Mike give Tyson an uppercut?
Stallone and Tyson (pictured in 1986) have been close since Rocky was first filmed
Tyson only managed to land 18 punches over eight rounds and 16 minutes in the ring
The former Dallas Cowboy compared Tyson’s situation to his own, claiming that if he could return to the football field, he wouldn’t be held back.
“If Mike Irvin had good knees and could still play football but didn’t run a set route, then something is solved,” Irvin added.
However, Tyson was simply unable to match Paul’s energy and his condition deteriorated during the eight-round clash.
Despite the veteran’s struggles, it was remarkable to see Paul refrain from striking a decisive blow.