Oscar De La Hoya returned with his weekly commentary segment, ‘The Thursday Clap Back.’ As he does it every time, in his most flowery manner, the last few seconds of the show were kept aside for Canelo Alvarez. The latest episode saw the former six-division champion sharing his thoughts on the Jake Paul–Mike Tyson fight in Texas. ‘The Golden Boy’ joined ranks with many who feel that the headliner bout between the YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old boxing legend strayed from what the fans hoped for.

The MVP-Netflix card of November 15 might have broken viewership records. Both fighters walked away with substantial paydays, with reports indicating a $40 million purse for Paul. However, their fight has faced criticism for falling short as a competitive boxing match. The show included an electrifying rematch between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano that thrilled fans. However, things changed when the headliner made its way. From all the talks of ‘war’ and knockouts, the Paul-Tyson bout ended up a plain, low-key affair. But is that the path to the boxing legacy that Paul often talks about? De La Hoya asked.

Oscar De La Hoya: A fight under scrutiny

“Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul was by its nature a horrible fight,” said De La Hoya. He added how it was simply ‘awful’ and reminded everyone how Tyson had almost tripped during his walk-in. De La Hoya wondered how everyone thought that they were going to see a prime Mike Tyson on November 15.

“Now, everyone is talking about how staged this fight was. I do believe it was scripted and believe that Tyson was certainly held back,” said Oscar De La Hoya. Given his past as a boxer, he stressed that it was easy for him to make out the anomaly.

According to ‘The Golden Boy,’ the fight entered the records of both Tyson and Paul after receiving the sanction as a professional fight. But to what end? He asked, “So Jake Paul paid to get the ‘W’ on his record for what? For your own personal satisfaction?”

Going back to Jake Paul‘s frequent stress on becoming a world champion, Oscar De La Hoya queried what the Ohioan was doing to achieve that goal. Picking up the frequent criticism against Paul, where he is often slammed for fighting old and out-of-prime former UFC fighters and boxers, De La Hoya pondered whether Paul planned to fight President Joe Biden!

A call for real competition

“You have to fight real fighters,” insisted Oscar De La Hoya while acknowledging the event was a huge success business-wise. According to him, the ‘real winners’ were Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor, because they fought a real bout. As a result, many new fans may have started following the two women trailblazers. Serrano and Taylor rejoined following their pathbreaking fight at Madison Square Garden two years ago. Earlier, some of the fans were even dismayed that their rematch had been relegated to co-main status.

Like last time, the fight ended in the most questionable manner. Nevertheless, both Serrano and Taylor were celebrated for putting up a splendid fight that lived up to every expectation.

Former Olympic bronze medalist Tony Jeffries also shared his review of the ‘scripted’ claims about the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight. Veteran trainer Teddy Atlas shared his insights on whether Paul ‘carried’ Mike Tyson. Perhaps, given the sort of hype that it created and the way it turned up, questions surrounding the fight’s legitimacy are likely to linger in the boxing world for some time.

Do you agree with Oscar De La Hoya’s assessment of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight?