'Big lie': Michael Irvin airs his major problem with how Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson panned out

Michael Irvin has weighed in with his thoughts on the recent Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson fight and believes there was a "big lie".

The former NFL player made the comment after Paul defeated the 58-year-old boxing legend by unanimous decision at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which was also live-streamed on Netflix.

Irvin attended the fight where he had a second-row view of the action, where the likes of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and President-elect Donald Trump were sat in front of him.

While there was much anticipation in the run-up to the controversial fight, viewers complained the bout didn't live up to the hype.

Speaking on the “It Is What It Is” podcast, Irvin claimed he heard whispers there were clauses in the contract which meant the boxers could go all out, with Tyson apparently also not allowed hit Paul with his famous uppercut

“That fight was a lie," Irvin said of the fight.

“Everybody’s lying … They had no intentions to really strap it on. If you look through that, I didn’t see one patented uppercut by Mike Tyson. What did Mike Tyson win on? Uppercut.

Jake Paul throws a left on Mike Tyson during a heavyweight bout at AT&T Stadium on November 15, 2024 in Arlington, TexasPhoto by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

“Then I heard some people talking about they couldn’t put that in the contract. He couldn’t body and then uppercut. Like, how can you put that in a fight contract?

“You got all these people out here, and he couldn’t body him and do that patented uppercut. Mike Tyson is not Mike Tyson anyway, and now you’re taking away Mike Tyson’s best gift, which is that uppercut. Man, that’s a big lie to me.

"That’s like making me play a game without running a slant route in the deep end or the deep out. You do what you do best. If they take that away, you ain’t that dude anymore, and they took that away.”

These claims have not been confirmed.

Statistics-wise, during the eight-two-minute rounds Tyson landed 18 punches out of 97 and Paul landed 78 out of 278 punches.

However it is important to note the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer fought a 58-year-old Tyson who previously had to postpone the fight which was originally meant to take place in July due to a stomach ulcer, so perhaps using the famous uppercut was out of the question.

What's more, Tyson revealed after the fight that he also almost died back in June.

"This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in ring one last time. I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you."

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