Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Undercard: Neeraj Goyat Wins and Mario ...

Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul Undercard: Neeraj Goyat Wins and Mario Barrios Retains

On November 15, on the Mike Tyson (50-6, 44 KOs) vs. Jake Paul (10-1, 7 KOs) undercard at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, we saw Neeraj Goyat (20-4-2, 8 KOs) make a successful MVP debut, defeating Whindersson Nunes (0-1, 0 KOs) in their six-round super middleweight fight. The next fight of the Most Valuable Promotions card on Netflix saw Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) retain his WBC welterweight title, with a split draw against Abel Ramos (28-6-3, 22 KOs).

The opening round saw Mario Barrios start positively landing a well-timed straight right hand which stunned Ramos. The San Antonio used his jab well throughout the first round, dictating the tempo effectively. Towards the end of the second round, a beautifully timed 1-2 combination from Barrios, knocked his opponent down.

Over the next couple of rounds, “El Azteca” continued to dictate the fight with his jab. Ramos had brief success – at the end of round four, but Barrios looks in control. After dominating for five rounds, Ramos landed a huge right hand in round six, knocking Barrios down, and turning this fight on its head. The Texan fighter needed all his experience to make it out of the round.

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Ramos looks rejuvenated after the knockdown and lands the right hand almost at will during round seven. Barrios needs to create distance, and use his jab and move like he did so effectively early on. During the seventh, Barrios seemed to have his legs back under him following the knockdown and had his moments.

The eighth round was a back-and-forth round with both fighters landing good punches, but the bigger punches seem to be coming from Ramos now. As we reach the championship rounds, this is a great fight, very much in the balance.

Round 11 saw both land on each other almost at will, which made this a great fight for everyone watching. The final round saw both trade heavy bombs, with Barrios edging the final round. What a great advert for the welterweight division. Both men survived knockdowns and had great success. The judge’s scorecards read 114-112 for Ramos, 116-110 for Barrios with the final card reading 113-113 making this war a split draw.

Reflecting on the fight, Barrios said: “I knew it was a close fight. I knew that Abel was going to come with everything. I knew I had a hard task in front of me. I was finding success in the early rounds, but he made adjustments. It created a war… I really couldn’t find the rhythm that I wanted to and then the fight ended up how it did. Hats off to him.”

Talking about being knocked down: “He’s a puncher. He caught me with something I didn’t see. I still don’t know what it was…. he’s as tough as I thought he was. I prepared myself for 12 hard rounds and that’s exactly what I got today,” said Barrios.

Speaking on the draw, Ramos said: “It was a great fight for the fans… when you get two Mexican warriors like us, you’re going to get action-packed guaranteed.”

“I just had to warm up my shoulders. I had trouble with my shoulders in the camp. He came out strong and he stayed strong,” said Ramos on improving in the second half of the fight.

Barrios was asked about a possible rematch, and he replied: We’ll sit down with me team and see what’s next. And, if we run it back, it will be a hell of a fight.”

The opening bout of the main card saw the recent Most Valuable Promotions signing Neeraj Goyat take on Whindersson Nunes. The opening round saw Nunes look to establish his jab, but Goyat quickly took control of the round, putting together nice combinations and mixing his shots well. His head movement was good, helping him avoid the jab of his Brazilian opponent. Despite his low-hand defence, Goyat was in control during round two, mixing his shots well, with Nunes unable to land a significant blow.

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The third round saw plenty of posturing from Goyat, but not a great deal of substance, as Nunes did his best work of the fight to the body. An incident during the round was embarrassing as the Indian fighter attempted to belittle his opponent in the corner. In the fourth round, Goyat controlled it with his combination punching. There wasn’t much zip on his punches, but he controlled the round from start to finish.

The Brazilian fighter hadn’t worked his opponent’s body enough, so Goyat once again dictated the tempo of the fifth round. The final round saw the hand speed of the Indian fighter boss the round, which was a common theme throughout the six rounds. The judge’s scorecards read 59-55 and 60-54 x2. A comfortable debut win for the recent MVP recruit.