Ever since YouTuber Jake Paul emerged victorious on points following his fight with Mike Tyson, social media has been awash with fans declaring the ‘real winner’ was someone else entirely
YouTuber Jake Paul may have emerged victorious over former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, but boxing fans have been quick to hail a very different “real winner” of the night.
Paul and Tyson were booed heavily throughout the second half of their fight in Texas, with some of the 70,000 attendees even walking out of the AT&T Stadium in Arlington before the bout had finished. Social media star Paul, 27, was declared the winner by unanimous decision against 58-year-old ‘Iron Mike’, with the judges awarding points scores of 80-72, 79-73, 79-73.
The fight, which was screened on Netflix, saw influencer and University of Alabama student Sydney Thomas appear as a Ring Girl, prompting viewers to declare she was the highlight of the night.
Sydney appeared alongside fellow MVP event models Lexi Williams, Raphaela Milagres, Virginia Sanhouse and Delia Sylvain and is set to shoot to stardom in the aftermath of the fight.
“Sydney Thomas, the real winner of Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson,” declared one X (formerly Twitter) user after the match. “If the Paul vs Tyson fight buffered only while showing Sydney Thomas the fight wouldn’t have been so bad,” quipped a second, in reference to live streaming problems.
A third joked: “My entire feed is Sydney Thomas content and honestly I’m down with it.” A fourth gushed: “Just watched the highlights of Mike Tyson destroying Jake Paul, it was crazy a fight but my winner is Sydney Thomas.”
It was only Sydney’s second time as a Ring Girl after she made her debut last month at a fight in Puerto Rico. “Adding ‘ring girl’ to the resume,” she penned to her 283,000 Instagram followers at the time. “I had a blast getting in the ring for my first ever boxing event (and first time in Puerto Rico).
“I thank God every day for allowing me to be a part of such amazing opportunities and experiences. Truly feeling so blessed. See you next time for round two.”
Paul and Tyson have reportedly been handed ‘suspensions’ from boxing, which will be in place over the coming days. Neither man was hurt in the contest but as it was sanctioned as a professional event, both men will be ordered to rest by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the body overseeing the fight.
The regulations state each fighter will be told to rest for three days for every round fought; meaning 24 days’ rest will be ordered for Paul and Tyson.