Boxing legend Mike Tyson’s return to the ring in 2024 never got the reception anybody wanted, apart from in the monetary stakes.

Tyson’s defeat to Jake Paul caused another tongue-lashing incident recently after the pair went through the motions of a non-event on November 15 in Texas. As a contest, there was none, and former UFC legend Don Frye never held back when discussing the Netflix show.
The 59-year-old retired combat star followed Daniel Cormier in questioning why an influencer boxer would want to face a 58-year-old at 27. Even when Tyson outlined that he was ill and ‘almost died,’ Paul still went through with the fight and proceeded to dominate Tyson throughout.

In the aftermath, Paul admitted that he carried Tyson to the end and didn’t want to knock him out.

“I tell you what, buddy, that [Tyson vs Paul fight] made me want to vomit,” Frye told Gary Goodridge via his YouTube channel. “I was so disgusted with it that I had to go home and put in [videos of] Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Jake Lamotta, and Rocky Marciano. You know, I had to watch some real fighters because if I didn’t, I’d never watch another boxing match again. That was a fraud,” he added.

Frye’s comments add to what fellow UFC campaigner Cormier said before the fight occurred. Speaking on his ‘Funky and the Champ’ show, Cormier said, “I understand that [he looks good at 58], and I get what he’s saying [he feels great].

“I do agree when he’s hitting pads with Rafael Cordeiro. It looks like there’s still something left in there. But then I watch Jake Paul fight Mike Perry. I watched Jake Paul get pressed to the point where he started to feel uncomfortable. It looked like Mike Perry had a chance. But then Jake has a reserve tank to go to and get and draw from because he’s 28 years old. Then he comes back and ultimately finishes Mike Perry.

“Early in the fight, Mike Perry is getting beat on and dropped. He looks out-manned and outmatched. That is my concern because what if this looks like a 58-year-old man fighting a 28-year-old man, where Mike can’t draw from that reserve tank to stay and compete with this young kid?

“I think it’s a lose-lose for Jake Paul because if you beat up Mike Tyson, everybody loves Mike Tyson. What if Mike knocks him out, though? Then it’s over,” Cormier added. “Everything’s done. It would be an all-time backfire. If he gets knocked out, nothing’s ever been done like that in the sport’s history.”