Mike Tyson admits ‘I’m a junkie’ as heavyweight legend opens up on addiction battle before revealing ‘I train with mushrooms’ ahead of his controversial fight against Jake Paul
- The former heavyweight champion will face Jake Paul in November in Texas
- Tyson suffered a medical scare in May that marred the first fight
- The 58-year-old has previously spoken openly about his prolific drug use
Mike Tyson calls himself a ‘junkie’ and claims he was born an addict just two months before his controversial fight with Jake Paul.
The former heavyweight champion was scheduled to face the former YouTuber turned boxer earlier this summer, but an inflamed stomach ulcer forced the bout to be rescheduled for November 15.
The bout has been widely criticized as it pits the 58-year-old against his compatriot, who is 31 years his junior. Tyson has not fought professionally since his 2005 loss to Kevin McBride, although he did have an exhibition match against fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.
With just eight weeks to go until the showdown, he opens up about his substance abuse as he prepares for the showdown at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“I’ve been smoking weed my whole life. Listen, I was born an addict. I was born that way. I’m a junkie. So, that’s how I was born.” He said on the Podcast Come and talk to me.
Mike Tyson calls himself a ‘junkie’ ahead of his rescheduled fight against Jake Paul
The 58-year-old had to give up his marijuana addiction before the boxing match, after previously revealing that he uses the drug daily
Tyson and Paul meet at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in front of 90,000 fans
“I don’t know what to do. I’m not getting high right now, but that’s who I am. I’m switching my addiction to something else, but I’m a junkie.”
He added: ‘I used to smoke not too long ago. I’m cool now, probably two weeks or so without smoking. I did do a little bit of shrooms before I came here.’
Tyson has stopped using marijuana during his training for the match against Paul because it is listed as a controlled substance by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
According to a report from World Boxing News Earlier this month, fight regulators won’t review Tyson until the day before the fight, so there’s a big risk the fight could be canceled just 24 hours before Iron Mike steps back into the ring.
The outcome of the review may result in the match being downgraded from a professional match to an exhibition match or even being cancelled.
However, Tyson is confident the bout will go to plan and insists he is prepared to take Paul apart, despite suffering a medical emergency on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles earlier this year.
Tyson became nauseous and dizzy, prompting airline personnel to ask passengers if there was a doctor on board who could help him.
Fans have raved about Tyson’s physique and punching power in recent training videos
When the plane landed in Los Angeles, emergency workers boarded the aircraft, which had already been delayed two hours in Miami due to the heat.
When asked if he would hit Paul, he replied: ‘Very badly.
“In my fight with Roy Jones, I let him fight on the card. I decided I’m going to start him and I’m going to finish him.”