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One of the co-promoters of the now-infamous boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson is hitting back at claims that the fight was rigged. Paul won the fight via unanimous decision over the 58-year-old Tyson, who looked every bit of his age. But some fans have since claimed that the fight was fixed, including NFL legend Michael Irvin, who stated that Tyson was barred from throwing uppercuts according to the fight contract.
Now Nakisa Bidarian, a co-founder of MVP Promotions alongside Paul, is calling out Irvin and anybody else who claimed that the fight wasn’t on the up-and-up.
“I’m concerned that there’s a CTE problem there for Michael Irvin,” Bidarian said Wednesday on “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “How would you see the contract, to begin with, that Mike Tyson couldn’t throw an uppercut? It’s just beyond lunacy and the realm of reality of life.
“This was a regulated professional bout by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. And we were partners with Netflix, the biggest media company in the world, who’s a public company. For anyone to suggest that this was in any way a rigged fight, they’re either dumb or they’re looking for attention.”
Several High Profile Fans Believed Tyson-Paul Fight Was Illegitimate
But Irvin wasn’t alone. Legendary Rocky actor Sylvester Stallone said that Tyson put on an “Oscar winning performance” in the fight.
“Just to set my personal record straight. Business is business,” Stallone wrote on Instagram. “SOMETIMES you have to do some things you HAVE to do sacrifice for the sake of helping your FAMILY… I have known this unbelievable athlete since he’s 19 years old and what we saw was him giving one of the great Oscar winning performances of all time!!!!
“Please, Jake, be grateful, HE SPARED YOUR LIFE! Trust me…”
Ultimately, the only people who know if it was rigged are those who saw the contact. But it’s hard to imagine any state commission sanctioning a rigged fight. Then again, it’s amazing they sanctioned any sort of fight involving Tyson. So, who knows? Maybe Stallone and Irvin have a point.
But fans who expected Tyson to look much better may be in for a rude awakening as they begin to age.
