Jake Paul says he eased up on Mike Tyson during their fight ... admitting he could tell the boxing legend was struggling in the ring -- and there was no need to knock him out.
El Gallo confirmed what most viewers suspected shortly after he secured the unanimous decision win at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX ... revealing he did, in fact, modify his approach after noticing the 58-year-old was no longer on the attack.
When asked if he purposely took his foot off the gas in Round 3, Jake told a reporter that was the case ... and explained his reason.
"Yeah, definitely," the 27-year-old said. "Definitely a bit. I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn't want to hurt someone that didn't need to be hurt."
Jake also claimed he didn't really feel much punch power coming from the Baddest Man on the Planet ... but pointed out that's been pretty common for him over the course of his fighting career.
As for fans in attendance booing in the closing minutes of the bout, Jake said he tried his damnedest to put on an entertaining show ... but had little to work with when his dancing partner was "just surviving in the ring."
"So I couldn't really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever, but I don't care about what people have to say," Jake added. "They're always going to have something to say and that it is what it is."
Mike clearly showed his age on Friday ... but he doesn't seem ready to hang up the gloves just yet -- as he called out Jake's older bro, Logan, for a fight.