What is an iron lion? He or she is a warrior who doesn’t quit. Or rather doesn’t know when to quit. I guess quit is a big no-no word when it comes to lions, especially the human kind. Last night I watched the Mike Tyson- Jake Paul fight. I’m not a boxing fan, so I didn’t understand some of the subtleties of the match. However, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that match. Jake Paul, a twenty-seven year old boxer in his prime realized a life-long dream of fighting one of the greatest boxers of all time, Mike Tyson, age fifty-eight. Fifty-eight! Iron Mike Tyson, a veteran of the ring, with fifty wins and only six losses might have wiped up the floor with baby Jake Paul. Paul’s record of ten wins and one loss is far less impressive than his age, size and ability. At 6’1’’ he stands three inches taller than Tyson with a 5’’ longer reach. (Tyson, 71’’ and Paul 76’’) What all of this means is that Tyson’s many years of experience was not enough to overcome all of Paul’s advantages.
It was difficult for me to watch this match. Seeing this younger lion beat the older one hurt a little bit. An older lioness myself (I could be Mike’s older sister-ouch) I truly wanted him to win. You know, a KO for us old timers to gloat upon as we rub sore knuckles and knees, complain about a bad night’s sleep and the like. I wanted to see the old lion, once again, prevail. As in all things, you win some, you lose some. How we deal with the loss is as important as how we deal with a win. In this case, I feel I must commend Paul for how he humbly handled the win. He comes off as a brash, annoying, big mouthed kid. And yet, as the match drew down, he backed away. He could have tried for a KO in those last thirty seconds, but chose to stand down. I liked that he bowed to Tyson, respecting and preserving the old iron lion’s image. And let’s face it; no one can take a hit like Tyson. He’s fifty-eight years old, taking a beating that would have certainly dropped a lesser man, any man really. He went the full eight rounds, being pummeled at every turn, taking seventy-eight punches to landing only eighteen on Paul. He is truly made of iron.
Some say this fight was all about a paycheck for Tyson and name recognition (and future paychecks) for Paul. Unless both men were excellent actors, I’d say this was about much more. Young pup definitely wanted to make a name for himself. I’m not sure the reputation for picking on old men is the one he banked on. I watched their body language and facial expressions as much as the powerful physical match itself. Jake didn’t seem as pleased with himself at the end as he was prior to the match. Mike looked soul weary and disappointed. Neither of them is a good actor, so I’m going with what my own eyes picked up.
So, thank-you Jake for finding grace in the end. And thank-you Iron Mike for showing that perseverance and standing tall, no matter your age is an admirable trait in any iron lion.
Reader Comments(0)