Rocky star Sylvester Stallone has apologised to Jake Paul for comments made in the aftermath of his recent victory over Mike Tyson.
The 78-year-old actor initially accused Tyson of delivering 'one of the great Oscar winning performances of all time' in his unanimous defeat to Paul, which took place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas on November 15.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Stallone suggested the former heavyweight champion had gone easy on the 27-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer.
"Business is business. SOMETIMES you have to do hard things and sacrifice for the sake of helping your FAMILY," Stallone wrote.
Boxing news: Rocky star Sylvester Stallone has apologised to Jake Paul for comments made in the aftermath of his recent victory over Mike Tyson
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"Please, Jake, be grateful, HE SPARED YOUR LIFE!" the actor added.
Paul responded angrily to Stallone's accusations in the comments section of the post.
"Always looked up to you as kid, but now you are a spreader of lies against my name," the 27-year-old boxer wrote.
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Boxing news: Sylvester Stallone amended his initial post about Jake Paul's win over Mike Tyson before deleting it altogether
In a particularly personal attack, Paul added: "Sad to see you fall. Maybe it's all the plastic surgery."
The exchange highlighted growing tensions over the legitimacy of the Netflix eight-round fight, which some fans had already accused of being 'fixed' - even though those allegations have been strongly denied.
Paul had previously admitted to carrying the 58-year-old Tyson during the bout, saying he 'wanted to give the fans a show'.
Now, after his initial criticism, Stallone made a dramatic U-turn and apologised to Paul.
The actor edited his Instagram post to read: "Just to set my personal record straight upon second viewing the best man won that night. My apologies. Keep punching."
Stallone subsequently deleted the post entirely from his social media account.
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Boxing news: Sylvester Stallone previously said Mike Tyson had produced 'one of the great Oscar winning performances' in his clash with Jake Paul
ReutersThe retraction came amid widespread debate about the fight, which had left many spectators at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium and viewers at home disappointed with the display from both fighters.
Despite the controversy, the fight proved to be a massive commercial success.
The bout peaked at 65 million streams, making it one of the most-watched sporting events ever.
Paul's promotional company, Most Valuable Promotions, was forced to defend against claims questioning the fight's legitimacy.
In a statement, they said: "This is not the first time Jake Paul has faced unfounded scepticism or outright disbelief as a professional athlete."
The company added that the event's record-breaking attendance and viewership numbers were 'yet another example of his ability to deliver on the biggest stage.'
