Tyson, meanwhile, praised the quality of his opponent Paul, who has successfully parlayed a career as a popular YouTuber and content creator into a string of lucrative boxing contests such as Friday’s event, bankrolled and broadcast by streaming giant Netflix.
“He’s a very good fighter,” said Tyson, who refused to rule out the possibility that he might even fight again.
“I don’t know. It depends on the situation,” said Tyson. Pressed on whether Friday was his last fight he added: “I don’t think so.”
Tyson was reportedly paid US$20 million to sign up for Friday’s contest, which came 19 years after his last officially sanctioned professional bout, a defeat to Irish journeyman Kevin McBride in 2005.
The former heavyweight champion’s return to the ring had been greeted with dismay across the boxing world, which had dismissed Friday’s contest as a macabre circus that risked injuring the boxing icon.
Those concerns deepened in May when the fight – initially set for July – was postponed after Tyson suffered a medical scare during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles. Tyson later revealed he had vomited blood caused by an “ulcer flare-up”.
Tyson, though, brushed off the concerns for his health, insisting that his critics were mostly jealous that he remains a box-office draw decades after his 1980s peak when he terrorised the heavyweight division.
Tyson tried to recall that era of dominance in his ring walk on Friday, marching into the arena in his signature black trunks with a black poncho draped over his body.
Yet that was as close as Tyson came to reflecting the fighter he once was, with Paul comfortably keeping him at arm’s length throughout the contest.
