Mike Tyson punch stats offer damning verdict on Jake Paul boxing fight

Jake Paul threw nearly three times as many punches as Mike Tyson - landing almost four times the number.

The YouTuber turned boxer secured in Texas in the early hours of Saturday morning. Paul enjoyed a huge age advantage over Tyson, who was 31 years old than his opponent.

Tyson began sharply and appeared to edge the opening rounds, but as the fight went on his age began to tell and Paul, the younger man, was able to let his superior fitness shine through. That was evident in the stats with the 27-year-old firing in 278 punches - compared to Tyson's 97.

Paul was therefore able to land 78 punches across the eight-round fight, which lasted 16 minutes due to rule tweaks. Tyson meanwhile only saw 18 of his punches hit the target.

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Paul paid tribute to his opponent as he said: ", he's a legend. He's the greatest to ever do it. I look up to him and we wouldn't be here today without him. This man is an icon and it's an honour to fight him. It was tough like I expected it to be."

Tony Bellew had been among those to consistently stand up for Tyson, claiming the fight, given the age differential, was a ridiculous concept. He did though acknowledge that Paul eased off in the final rounds so as not to KO the legend.

He said: "I don’t like this stupid idiot kid but I will say this.. He stopped beating on Mike there and showed him some respect and dignity by letting him survive! He didn’t go for the KO there he stepped off him and let him be.. Mike we all adore you king your a super hero to all of us from the proper fight business!"

Paul, whose brother Logan has also turned his hand to boxing, added on his doubters: "People just love to hate me. I intentionally say things for people to hate. That's what I like to do. If people want to see more... give me a couple of months."

Tyson added on the contest: "I'm not surprised (it went the distance). I knew he was a good fighter, I came prepared. I didn't prove nothing to anybody, only to myself. I'm just happy with what I can do.

He also refused to use the knee strap and any injuries issues as an excuse: "Yeah, but I can't use that as an excuse, because if I did, I wouldn't be in here."

The fight in Dallas was a professionally sanctioned bout and means his record now features seven losses. He's lost his last three fights with his defeat in Dallas coming nearly 20 years after he was beaten by Kevin McBride.