I’ve always enjoyed a big time match with well-known boxers facing off. Over decades, I have watched MANY. Always have enjoyed the sport.
I say all that to also make it clear that I have never done a deep dive in to the sport, so I am open to opinions — especially from hardcore boxing fans.
When I was a kid, title fights were FIFTEEN rounds! Not long after… they were 12 rounds. Naturally I asked “what happened, why?!” The answers were almost always something along the lines of safety and “it needs to be sporting, not pure brutality.”
Okay, fine, who am I to argue?
This fight was only eight rounds. What, c’mon!
“But he’s 58….” okay, fine, I don’t make the rules and they don’t ask my opinion.
But I still get to say what I wanna say, and that is:
This is a FIGHT, right? If nobody gets KO’d and nobody is hurt enough for the ref to stop it, if no corner throws a towel and no fighter gives up, I think it’s ludicrous that a winner is even declared.
I’m not saying for Tyson/Paul, I’m saying for every sanctioned boxing match. I’ve felt that way since I started watching boxing in the mid-1980’s.
It’s probably just me. I think if you don’t get knocked out, and you don’t quit, there is no way you lost. If the guy connected 300 times and you never landed one and he still couldn’t knock you out, he didn’t win either.
The match I watched tonight ended in a tie. (they declared Jake Paul the winner but I did not witness him beat Mike Tyson)
