The noise could only mean one thing.
Clearly, the crowd inside the 80,000-capacity AT&T Stadium had just got their first glimpse of Mike Tyson, one of the greatest, most controversial athletes in history, just hours away from his first pro fight in almost two decades.
A quick glance up at one of the huge screens hovering about the ring confirmed my suspicion. Iron Mike, 58 and ripped, was being filmed entering the arena through the back door wearing a snazzy jacket, looking ready for business.
Cheers from adoring fans bounced around the stadium. Shortly after, Jake Paul’s entrance was met rather differently, cheers replaced by boos from an audience who had seemingly collectively agreed on their way in who they were rooting for.
The contrasting reactions were hardly surprising. Tyson, despite his chequered past, remains a much-loved figure, the ‘baddest man on the planet’ has now spent years charming fans with quirky appearances on TV shows and Hollywood films.
Paul, on the other hand, has made a career from being divisive. He may be one of the most followed and watched content creators in the world but he also rubs a lot of people up the wrong way, and seems to take pleasure in it.
Fans continued making their feelings known for the next few hours. Shots of Mike Tyson in his dressing room were met with passionate cheers, while there were boos for pantomime villain Jake Paul.
During the fight – the underwhelming, slightly uncomfortable fight – the only time the crowd were fully engaged was on the odd occasion Tyson pressed forward and swung an admittedly slow punch.
Given the way the fight panned out – Paul largely dominating without hurting an increasingly tiring Tyson – the crowd were left largely disappointed.
‘It was a bit sad,’ I heard one dejected fan saying as they headed for the exit. And they may as well have been speaking for the entire arena.
It was sad to see an all-time great land so few punches, to be so gun-shy, to flinch so dramatically when his opponent feinted, to look so average doing something he perfected in his prime.
It was sad to see a once titan of the sport essentially beaten up – albeit not brutally – by someone clearly so limited, despite his claims to the contrary.
It was sad to hear Paul claim in his post-fight interview that he – a relative notice who lost to Tommy Fury last year – was holding back in the latter stages, not wanting to hurt someone he agreed to fight for a lot of money.
‘Yeah, definitely, I did a bit,’ he said after taking his overall record to 11-1. ‘I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.’
The good news is that it appears as though Tyson left the ring unscathed, even suggesting in a post-fight interview that he could do all this again in the future, presumably if the money’s right.
‘I don’t know, it depends on the situation,’ Tyson said immediately after suffering his seventh professional defeat. ‘Maybe his brother [Logan].’
That comment sparked a brief burst of activity from Logan Paul, who seemed up for the challenge (and why wouldn’t he be, given Tyson’s now-limited ability and the potential money on offer) and ridiculously said he would ‘kill’ the veteran in the ring.
But that should be that for Mike Tyson. That much is clear after tonight. Maybe in time fans will appreciate being able to see Iron Mike strut his stuff once last time but the general sense inside the AT&T Stadium was one of regret.
.
.