Australian boxing legend calls out Mike Tyson 'travesty' as training footage sparks outrage

Australian boxing legend Barry Michael has described Mike Tyson's controversial bout against Jake Paul as a "rort" and says the pre-fight training footage of the former heavyweight champion was nothing like what he brought to the ring. Tyson looked every bit his 58 years of age after being thoroughly dominated by a man more than 30 years his junior, with Paul claiming a unanimous decision in front of a sold out crowd in Dallas, Texas.

The eight-round fight was officially sanctioned by boxing authorities, despite featuring shorter two-minute rounds and 14oz gloves that softened the blows for both fighters. Watched by an estimated global TV audience of 300 million people on Netflix, the bout made both men an eye-watering amount of money, with Paul said to have pocketed around $US 40 million and Tyson taking home an estimated $US 20 million.

But while the build-up to the spectacle promised so much for fans longing to see Tyson enter the ring for his first sanctioned bout in two decades, the fight itself failed to deliver. Many fans felt duped by a bout that appeared to follow a script as the 58-year-old Tyson inevitably tired and Paul held back from punishing the much older man.

Tyson started the fight encouragingly enough and showed fleeting glimpses of the skills that made him one of the most feared boxers on the planet. But it was few and far between for Tyson, who looked like a completely different fighter than the one seen in numerous videos before the fight, where his explosive leg speed and punching power had fans daring to dream.

Aussie boxing great slams Mike Tyson 'travesty' amid backlash

And Australia's former boxing world champion Michael told SEN Breakfast on Monday that he felt swindled like a lot of other viewers around the world, describing the controversial fight as a "travesty" for Tyson and a "black eye" for the sport of boxing. "Before the fight Mike really did look in good condition. I watched him train over a period of months and he really did look in good shape and showed flashes of some brilliance in the gym," Michael said.

"But at the end of the day I think the whole thing was a rort, Jake Paul really carried Mike Tyson's jock strap to be honest. It was a travesty for Mike Tyson to lose to someone like Jake Paul, it was a really bad black eye for boxing to be honest. It's just all about the dollar, that's what it's all about.

Tyson only threw a fraction of the number of punches as Paul and Aussie boxing great Michael said he believed the outcome was "preordained" before the two fighters even stepped into the ring. "To be honest after the first two rounds.... I think Jake Paul could have really stepped it up if he wanted to because Mike was predictable and he wasn't throwing punches," Michael added.

"He threw less and less as the sparring session - I won't call it a fight - progressed. I just think it's very sad that Mike, at 58, had to come back and do this. Good luck to him, you know he's made a lot of money and it's good for his family but for me (it was) a real black eye for boxing... It was a sparring session, I reckon it was preordained before they actually got in the ring... it was a rort."

Jeff Fenech praises Mike Tyson despite 'terrible' fight

Fellow Australian boxing great Jeff Fenech said he was "embarrassed" for predicting a comfortable win for Tyson but praised the 58-year-old for having the courage to get back in the ring. Tyson claimed he "almost died" in June after having eight blood transfusions before fighting his way back to shape for the Paul fight.

"Yeah I was [surprised]," Fenech told Nine's Today Show about Tyson's underwhelming display against Paul. "I had so many people ring me and so many people lost money because of me - I'm pretty embarrassed. It may have been a terrible fight - but what he represented and what he was trying to do isn't just to show people he can fight, he's trying to show people that at 58 you can work hard...

"He's changed his whole life around and I think that's what it's about. The rest of the stuff far outweighs the fight." Fenech said he would advise Tyson not to step back in the ring again, despite the heavyweight legend calling out Logan Paul after the fight.