In this week’s mailbag, we tackle the meaning of it all — not life in general, not this time at least, but rather just what we should take out of Mike Tyson returning to the ring at the age of 58 for a unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul.
In addition to that, we hear from you on whether Katie Taylor deserved her rematch victory over Amanda Serrano, and what to take out of William Zepeda hitting the canvas en route to a split decision victory over Tevin Farmer.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.
MIKE TYSON DESERVES MORE CREDIT THAN HE’S GETTING
Sometimes writers (“Submitted for your approval: Mike Tyson and the twilight zone”) don´t do their homework. Tyson was very sick in June. He was unable to train properly. He still had good cardio. Jake was unable to finish him, and he seemed very tired too. If Tyson would not have been sick just five months ago, he would have fought better — maybe not for winning, but better. Four years ago he displayed good athleticism and beat Roy Jones Jr. clearly, the latter being a bit younger. So instead of bashing old-timers, praise the good things he did, including looking good for the beach, better than Jake.
-budfr
response: "Sometimes writers don't do their homework.” The very article on which you commented included Tyson referencing how sick he had been, and I wrote earlier in the week (“Oh, the humanity: Of boxing, Tyson-Paul and zeppelins”) about how it was a reason for extra concern. Do you actually think it was possible to write about this fight, be on-site for a week, and follow proceedings for months without being aware of his health episode?
You said he still had “good cardio” anyway. You and I clearly have very different definitions of “good.” Was it better than most of us? Sure. Sufficient to be in a high-profile fight? No. In all seriousness, can you really watch what happened on Friday night and come away impressed with Tyson's cardio? Seriously?
And instead of writing about the fact that he was always on a fool's errand, and that the fight worked out pretty much how anyone who had given it more than a moment's thought figured it was going to work out, I should instead focus on the fact that you thought he looked good in a banana hammock? Yeah, that's not going to happen.
Does Tyson deserve recognition and even praise for getting himself into shape, and all the more so after what happened to him on that plane? Yes, absolutely; and clearly, he feels that was the victory he could take from the night, which I found genuinely heartwarming. But he wasn't paid $20 million for a great-for-a-58-year-old beach bod. Sixty-five million households didn't tune in to check out his pecs, and more than 70,000 people in the arena weren't there to see how well his recovery was going.
You said he would have done better if not for his earlier health episode. Would he really? You know that, do you? Logic suggests that he might well have done, but I don't know that for certain, and nor do you. And your evidence for that is that he performed better against an almost equally aged Roy Jones four years ago? Dude, I'm a similar age to Tyson, and I can tell you that at this age, four years makes a lot of difference. And I've consumed my fair share of substances over the years, but I haven't done half the damage to myself that Tyson has.
Look, I am sympathetic to the realities of Tyson's age and health and to the fact he very clearly worked hard to get himself into the condition he did. If he is genuinely able to walk away with some pride and a sense of closure, I'm happy for him. But this is just another form of what I wrote about in my column: those who are unable to accept the evidence before them.
Tyson is 58. Jake Paul is 27. That's really what this came down to; nothing else. And if he really was so severely hampered, in a manner he wouldn't have been beforehand, by what happened to him on the plane, then he should never have been allowed in the ring. And the fact that he, Team Paul, and the Texas commission went ahead with it anyway is borderline criminal. I would respectfully argue you should be more concerned with that than with writers giving Tyson credit for his six-pack.
NO MORE MIKE TYSON FIGHTS NEEDED
Mike did well to get himself in shape for this appearance in the ring. He made $20 million, and I hope he never gets in the ring again.
-SUBZER0ED
response: Agreed, agreed, agreed. Kudos to Tyson for sharpening that iron (a final time?) at age 58. My god, I’d have killed for that physique at 18, let alone now, like Mike, in my fifth decade. But beach bodies don’t win fights, and it was painfully, excruciatingly obvious from the start of Friday’s event outside Dallas that Tyson left his legs and balance behind somewhere in the ’90s.
Afterward, Tyson seemed to be leaning more toward a return than retirement. If he came back for this one at 58, I don’t doubt he’d do it again should the money and circumstances work out.
I don’t want to see it, and neither should you. But someone will pony up a small fortune, we’ll get nostalgic for the Iron Mike era again, someone will mention third-act George Foreman, and boxing will shrug and pretend that a pushing-60 Tyson belongs inside a ring. Let’s just hope whoever stands across from him next time is as sympathetic as Jake Paul was.
JAKE PAUL VS. MIKE TYSON WAS RIGGED!
It was rigged, and we all know it! Mike Tyson was moving in those training videos like he was fast and explosive. He became a mummy overnight! This wasn’t a boxing match! It was more of an entertainment spectacle.
There were no boxers in that main event. There was a fake wannabe boxer who was puffing and gasping for air already in the third round, and a has-been fighter who at 58 years old had nothing left other than a resting chair! The fact that Mike is such a nice guy now doesn’t take away that he was involved in this shameful event!
-Chavmex40
response: I feel like the second half of your comment explains away your first half. There’s a difference between how Mike Tyson was presented — in very brief video clips edited and aired to make him look as formidable as possible to help sell the fight, with his trainer holding the pads right in front of him in a way no smart or capable opponent would — and what we got.
Tyson didn’t have the stamina to last past six rounds, or 18 minutes, with Kevin McBride back in 2005 at nearly 39 years old. He wasn’t going to have the stamina at 58 years old to go full force for eight two-minute rounds, or 16 minutes, with Jake Paul. Never mind that Tyson’s body has been further worn down by the nearly two decades that have passed since.
It could’ve been worse for you and others who were disappointed in the lack of action. This at least wasn’t a pay-per-view. Most people who watched were already Netflix subscribers. Those who hadn’t already subscribed can at least get some value from the streaming service for the remainder of their month-long subscription term.
And hopefully you at least tuned in for the undercard. It was great to read Netflix’s claim that 50 million households worldwide watched the rematch between Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano. That and the entertaining welterweight title fight between Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos sated my appetite for action. Then again, I had low expectations for the main event between Tyson and Paul. And I got the one thing I wanted most — for Tyson not to get badly hurt.
KATIE TAYLOR KEEPS GETTING WINS VIA JUDGES ROBBING HER OPPONENTS
Yet another disgusting gift for Katie Taylor. That makes two gifts against Amanda Serrano and the first fight against Delfine Persoon. Persoon beat the living snot out of Katie in the first fight, but Katie was still standing at the end, and that is all she needs to have her hand raised.
No sane person believes she won either Serrano fight or the first Persoon fight.
-Blackrobb
response: I feel like I shouldn’t say this, because Katie Taylor seems like such a wonderful person and is so universally beloved and has been such a positive force for women’s boxing, but… I more or less agree with you.
I would stop short of saying Delfine Persoon “beat the living snot out of” Taylor or that “no sane person” thinks she won any of those fights, but I scored these fights similarly to you and think a 22-3, or even 21-4, record would paint a more accurate picture of Taylor’s career than her glistening 24-1 mark does.
I came away from both Serrano fights firmly believing Amanda had proven herself superior and had won the majority of the rounds. I can’t recall how I scored that first Persoon fight, but I do remember feeling Taylor got a little lucky. And frankly, her rematch with Chantelle Cameron, which Taylor won by majority decision, could have gone either way.
So what’s going on here? Does Taylor just have a straightforward style that pleases judges? (It seems so.) Is a judge more likely to struggle when a two-minute round is close than when a three-minute round is close? (That makes logical sense.) Is the fix in? (This one I reject, as Serrano was the promoter’s fighter on Friday and was the local fighter at Madison Square Garden.)
In the end, I feel awful for Serrano, who somehow has no victories to show for her 20 rounds against Taylor. And I strongly reject any notion that Taylor is the “GWOAT.” She’s one of the best of her era, one of the best of all-time, and a deserving future Hall of Famer. But nobody would be tossing the term “GWOAT” around if her BoxRec page showed her to be 22-3 or 21-4.
DOUBTING WILLIAM ZEPEDA’S CHANCES AGAINST SHAKUR STEVENSON AFTER TEVIN FARMER WIN
I see Shakur Stevenson making William Zepeda miss tons of punches and clocking him at will in a non-exciting fight, although the fight at times might be exciting. I was intrigued until last night [when Zepeda was knocked down by a counter in the fourth round but beat Tevin Farmer via split decision]. I also wonder if Zepeda, who has been dropped two or three times, would be able to take Gervonta Davis' power. Some luster came off of Zepeda for these matchups.
response: Cutman Aaron Navarro has a saying about a “tiger suit.” I’ll cut to the chase: Some fighters are tigers, and some are just wearing the costume. Once you step into the ring with a real tiger, it’s a different ballgame. They’re too eager, too ferocious, too real.
And here’s the thing about William Zepeda: He didn’t look bad against Tevin Farmer — far from it. Nor did he get “exposed.”
Here’s the reality: People don’t give Farmer enough credit. Sure, he’s older, stepping up in weight, and carrying the baggage of inactivity. But Farmer is slick, disciplined and far from washed. On paper, this was a 50-50 fight, but fans and oddsmakers — casuals especially — are suckers for shiny records. Records, I might add, that often tell you more about matchmaking than ability.
Zepeda, the high-volume puncher with shades of Subriel Matias, was supposed to overwhelm Farmer. Yet the fight raised an uncomfortable question: What happens when Zepeda’s relentless output meets a capable, mobile boxer who doesn’t get overwhelmed?
The answer? Well, it’s complicated.
Gervonta Davis? Great puncher. Shakur Stevenson? Elite feet and great gauge of distance. Zepeda? He throws a ton, but the offense comes with a price tag: You’re open to counters, and Zepeda’s footwork, while overwhelming, isn’t exactly cat-like.
Farmer exposed that gap — not by dominating, but by showing Zepeda is still more worker bee than apex predator. It’s a detail that grows louder when the stakes rise.
Perception is reality in boxing. Farmer was seen as a stepping stone, a litmus test for whether Zepeda could tangle with the likes of Stevenson or Davis. Instead, this felt more like a reality check. A win? Yes. A statement? Not really. Maybe Farmer deserves more respect. Maybe Zepeda isn’t a finished product. Either way, Zepeda’s got some evolving to do before facing the top fighters.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.