Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin has shared a theory that suggested Mike Tyson was restricted during his fight against Jake Paul last week.
The 27-year-old Paul easily defeated the 58-year-old Tyson on Friday night on Netflix as the former heavyweight champion landed only 18 punches while lumbering around the ring in a futile attempt to chase down his younger opponent.
The former YouTuber later claimed that he held back against Tyson because he ‘didn’t wanna hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt.’
However, Irvin claimed it was Tyson that was being forced into holding back due to a mystery clause in the contract.
‘I was looking for that patent “one in the body, one on the uppercut,”‘ the 58-year-old former NFL player began explaining on The Herd. ‘When he hits that it’s boom boom, boom. I want to see that. But we didn’t get that, not a one.’
‘And I saw someone else say that it was in the contract – “no uppercuts.” They had it in the contract. Come on guys, why wouldn’t Mike Tyson throw an uppercut?’
The former wide receiver went on to liken Tyson’s situation to his own, claiming that if he could return to the football field, then he wouldn’t be held back.
‘If Mike Irvin had good knees and could still play football but didn’t run a set route, something’s fixed,’ Irvin added.
Colin Cowherd, host of The Herd on FS1, agreed with Irvin’s theory but went on to expand on it, suggest it could have had bigger repercussions on the fight.
‘It was the killer shot and he didn’t throw one,’ Cowherd echoed.
‘Jake Paul by about the fifth round had a chance [to knock Tyson out] and I wonder if, after what you said, did Jake Paul say, “Listen, I signed a contract. He can’t throw an uppercut, so I’m not gonna humiliate him,”‘ he added.
Irvin’s isn’t the only conspiracy theory to emerge from the Netflix showdown after many fans claimed Paul’s unanimous victory was fixed, pointing to a moment in the bout they believe proved it.
‘Jake Paul signaling for Mike to take it easy,’ one fan wrote on X in a post that included a clip of Tyson landing a chin shot.
Paul reacted to the punch by sticking his tongue out and taunting Tyson, as if to say the punch didn’t bother him.
It’s something that Paul has done in previous fights, and even outside of the ring, the former YouTube star has made a habit of sticking out his tongue.
But according to these conspiracy theorists, Tyson was ‘signaling.’
Spokespeople for Most Valuable Promotions declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com. A Netflix spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fan theory may not be supported by evidence.
Many were surprised the fight was even sanctioned after it was initially delayed in June when Tyson suffered an ulcer flareup on a cross-country flight.
Last week, Tyson claimed he nearly died on that plane and ultimately had eight blood transfusions as he recovered from the incident.
