Exclusive: Michael Chiesa makes feelings known about Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, addresses match-fixing allegations
The Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight was widely panned by the combat sports community. However, it wasn't just criticism that was aimed at the matchup. Many have alleged that the outcome was predetermined, which UFC welterweight Michael Chiesa was happy to discuss in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.
Naturally, Chiesa disapproved of the matchup, as have many in the combat sports community. However, he does not believe the bout to be fixed. Instead, he opined that Tyson was simply a victim of old age, looking like a shell of even what he showed against Roy Jones Jr. in their exhibition match four years ago.
"That was very hard [to watch], man. I'm glad that Mike was able to walk out of there on two feet, and it looked like he was struggling to stand on his two feet. He had the knee brace on, kind of stumbled walking out. He just looked like his legs were just a little bit compromised. And if Jake Paul really laid off the gas and didn't hurt him or finish him, good on him."
As far as the fight-fixing allegations are concerned, Chiesa was entertaining none of them, highlighting the risks involved in predetermining fights.
"I hate how people are saying the fight was fixed. For anybody watching this that's saying that fight was a fix, you realize if you get caught fixing a fight, you lose your license to promote forever. There's way too much to risk and people don't realize that. It's so hard to fix a fight, and if you get caught you're doing federal prison time. You're losing rights to be a promoter or compete for the rest of your life."
Check out Michael Chiesa's thoughts on Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson (9:50):
Despite how difficult Chiesa found the matchup to watch, he wasn't overly critical of it, even defending it against the current wave of match-fixing allegations.
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson was plagued by other issues
Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson was the first sports event livestreamed on Netflix. Given the hype surrounding the return of a heavyweight boxing legend in Tyson, many tuned in to watch the bout. Unfortunately, the live stream was plagued by technical issues.
Viewers reported being abruptly logged out of their Netflix accounts, while others experienced choppy streams, massive dips in quality, and buffering issues.