Jake Paul eases to victory by decision over Mike Tyson

Jake Paul won the highly anticipated boxing match on Netflix by unanimous decision 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 as Paul landed 78 punches to Mike Tyson's 18.

Once known as "The baddest man on the planet," former heavyweight champion "Iron" Mike Tyson (50-7, 44 knockouts), returned to the boxing ring Friday to take on YouTube star-turned-professional fighter Jake Paul (11-1, seven knockouts).

The two have traded verbal barbs for months ahead of the delayed fight, but things escalated Thursday when video showed the 58-year-old Tyson slapping Paul, 27, in the face during the weigh-in for the prime-time fight.

The Tyson-Paul fight was originally scheduled for July before it was pushed back several months after Tyson had an ulcer issue.

Tyson, 58, tried to push the pace early on in the bout, but Paul was able to overcome the early onslaught and kept hitting the former heavyweight champion with shots from a distance as Tyson slowed down the further the fight went on.

MORE: Video Former champ Mike Tyson to fight YouTuber Jake Paul

"Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson is a once-in-a-lifetime dream matchup and we hope it will be the most-watched boxing event in modern boxing history," Nakisa Bidarian, founder of Most Valuable Promotions, who is partnering with Netflix to put on the fight, said in a release.

Before the fight, Tyson said he planned to "finish" the "kid" despite the 31-year age gap.

"I'm very much looking forward to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas," Tyson said in a release. "He's grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a 'kid' can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT. It's a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him off on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him."

Paul said Tyson will be his biggest challenge yet.

"It's crazy to think that in my second pro fight, I went viral for knocking out Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson's undercard. Now, less than four years later, I'm stepping up to face Tyson myself to see if I have what it takes to beat one of boxing's most notorious fighters and biggest icons," Paul said in a statement.

Tyson was heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990 and began his career by winning his first 37 matches. He won his first 19 professional fights by knockout. Tyson's first loss was a huge upset against Buster Douglas in 1990.

Paul, who began fighting professionally in 2020, has previously defeated UFC star Nate Diaz and MMA fighter and Olympic wrestler Ben Askren. He started his boxing career 6-0 before losing to Tommy Furry in 2023.

Jake Paul eases to victory by decision over Mike Tyson originally appeared on abcnews.go.com