Jake Paul blames 'sprained ankle' for his lackluster performance against Mike Tyson leaving fans fuming

ARLINGTON, TEXAS: Jake Paul has blamed his injuries and Mike Tyson's age for his disastrous matchup with the heavyweight icon which caused thousands of spectators to leave AT&T Stadium beforehand.

Paul defeated the 58-year-old former unbeaten world heavyweight champion on Friday, November 15, by majority decision in Tyson's first professional fight in 19 years.

Scorecards were 80-72, 79-73, and 79-73 in favor of the YouTuber-turned-boxer after the eight-round fight which was held in Texas and streamed live on Netflix.

Jake Paul claims to be on crutches two weeks before his bout against Mike Tyson

Although Jake Paul won easily in Texas on Friday night, November 15, majority of fans were worried about Mike Tyson's movements in the ring even at the age of 58.

The heavyweight legend initially appeared shaky on his feet and lacked equilibrium when attacking. It was a relief to the fans that he survived all eight rounds.

Paul said he was fortunate to be able to fight all the way to the end. The match was almost ruined by an injury sustained at training camp before the big night, according to Daily Mail.

During the post-fight news conference, Paul stated, "Two weeks ago I sprained my ankle, completely tore the ligament, anterior ligament and like snapped the other side of my foot."

"[I] Was on crutches for four or five days and it just hindered the end of my training camp. I don't know how it didn't get leaked or anything. I missed about two weeks of sparring and that's why my cardio didn't really feel so good tonight," he added.

Even though there were 70,000 spectators in the Dallas Cowboys' stadium to watch the fight at the start of the evening, many left before the main event was over.

Paul's injury excuse in his post-fight news conference emerged after the challenging viewing and perhaps after observing the significant negative response on social media, noted The Mirror.

Jake Paul blames Mike Tyson's age for bout's lack of enthusiasm

Jake Paul won with ease as Mike Tyson lacked the famed strength that had made him an intimidating opponent at his peak and struggled with agility. He spent the last 10 seconds of the bout bowing and honoring Tyson who was unable to mount a serious challenge.

Paul additionally claimed that Tyson was to fault for the fight's lack of enthusiasm, saying, "I wanted to give the fans a show but I didn't want to hurt someone that didn't need to be hurt."

"There was a point where he (Tyson) was not engaging back, I could just tell his age was showing a little bit. That violence war thing... that went away as the rounds went on," he added.

Paul continued, "People just love to hate me. I intentionally say things for people to hate. That's what I like to do. If people want to see more... give me a couple of months."

"I tried to give the best fight I possibly could. When someone's just surviving in the ring, it's hard to make it exciting. I don't care what people have to say. It is what it is," he said.

Tyson's coach Rafael Cordeiro insisted at the post-fight news conferences that they went into the bout believing he still had his former spark and could win.

"We worked for seven months for this moment. I truly believed we had this victory before the fight. He never asked to give up," Cordeiro said.

He added, "We are really proud of Mike, the way he trained for seven months, he put his life aside for training. He's the people's champ. He's inspired many people outside of the ring. The most important thing is that Mike is going back home to his loved ones."

The fight on Friday, November 15, was rescheduled after Tyson had to cancel their first date due to a personal health issue. The Netflix documentary 'Countdown: Paul vs Tyson,' released in the run-up to the rescheduled fight, featured Tyson's account of his struggle.