Sylvester Stallone has added fuel to the fire regarding allegations that Jake Paul‘s dominant victory over two-time world champion Mike Tyson was fixed.
Paul, 27, was in control throughout last week’s fight with Tyson, who is 31 years his opponent’s senior, pushing the somewhat slow pace of the bout throughout its eight rounds.
Paul landed a total of 78 punches over the course of the fight’s 16-minute duration, while Tyson only mustered 18 as he tried his best just to stay upright and see out the controversial event.
Conversely, Daniel Dubois, the IBF heavyweight champion, threw 79 punches in the five rounds it took to defeat Anthony Joshua at Wembley back in September.
Following his comprehensive victory, Paul claimed that he held back from knocking out the once undisputed heavyweight champion. However, theories that it was in fact Tyson restraining himself have been in full flow in the aftermath of the fight.
And now Stallone, who is famous for portraying iconic boxing character Rocky Balboa, has claimed Tyson ‘spared’ Paul and gave an acting display even the best performers would be proud of.
‘Just to set my personal record straight. Business is business,’ Stallone wrote on Instagram. Sometimes you have to do hard things and sacrifice for the sake of helping your family.
‘I have known this unbelievable athlete [Tyson] since he was 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. Keep punching Mike, there will never be a man like you, a gladiator like you, and a soul like you.
‘Keep punching champion of champions! I remember once I bumped into him and thought I was hit by a runaway bulldozer.’
Stallone is not the only star to have perpetuated the rhetoric that Paul and Tyson staged the Netflix showdown in Texas.
Michael Irvin, an NFL legend, added to the growing list of conspiracies by suggesting that Tyson didn’t throw specific shots because of a clause in his fight contract.
‘I was looking for that patent “one in the body, one on the uppercut,”‘ Irvin began explaining on The Herd. ‘When he hits that it’s boom boom, boom. I want to see that. But we didn’t get that, not a one.’
‘And I saw someone else say that it was in the contract – “no uppercuts.” They had it in the contract. Come on guys, why wouldn’t Mike Tyson throw an uppercut?
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The former Dallas Cowboy went on to liken Tyson’s situation to his own, claiming that if he could return to the football field, then he wouldn’t be held back.
‘If Mike Irvin had good knees and could still play football but didn’t run a set route, something’s fixed,’ Irvin added.
However, Tyson was just unable to match Paul’s energy and his condition worsened throughout the eight-round clash.
Though, despite the veteran’s struggles it was curious to see Paul refrain from landing a decisive blow.
