\n<\/p>\n
In a press conference following the match, Paul admitted that by the third round, he realized he needed to dial things way back. \u201cI wanted to give the fans a show,\u201d Paul said, \u201cbut I didn\u2019t want to hurt someone that didn\u2019t need to be hurt.\u201d When asked if he felt Tyson\u2019s power in the ring, Paul simply responded, \u201cNo.\u201d (Tyson did not attend the press conference, nor did his representatives respond to Vanity Fair\u2019s<\/em> request for comment.)<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a sense of disappointment in the room,\u201d commentator Kate Scott<\/strong> said from the media stand as the crowd grew restless and, at certain points, sad. \u201cEverybody was kind of hoping, to the last minute, man, that [Tyson] going to find something special, and, well\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe crowd, they were confused throughout the fight,\u201d says light heavyweight champion turned commentator Andre Ward<\/strong>. \u201cTheir heart is with Mike and they wanted something to cheer about. But Mike wasn\u2019t giving them much to cheer about, because of the age, and the wear and tear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey didn\u2019t want to boo Mike,\u201d Ward said. \u201cThey were kind of restless, and they didn\u2019t really know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Others, like Magic Johnson<\/strong>, were so crushed by the reality of the match that they had to turn it off. \u201cJust sad smh,\u201d the legendary NBA star wrote on X<\/a>. \u201cI cut it off because I couldn\u2019t watch anymore. It\u2019s sad to see Mike Tyson like this because I went to every Tyson fight. This fight tonight was not great for boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s likely that Paul disagreed. In the moments after the judges announced the unanimous decision in his favor, Paul took the mic to first praise Tyson, saying, \u201che\u2019s the greatest to ever do it,\u201d before making a brief speech that echoed his tweet<\/a> celebrating Trump\u2019s win last week.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the era of truth. It\u2019s the era of good. There\u2019s a shift in the world, and good is rising,\u201d Paul said. \u201cThe truth is rising, I\u2019m just honored to be a party of America. It feels like we\u2019re back, baby.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n