Against the advice of almost everyone, 57-year-old Mike Tyson will enter a professional boxing ring for the first time in almost 19 years on July 20.
He will face 27-year-old Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium in Texas in a mega-money fight that will air exclusively on Netflix.
It’s hard to understand why he’s willing to do that. He has nothing to prove. There is no history with Paul or his family. Maybe he needs the money, but health should definitely come first.
Tyson continues to suffer from health issues and concerns, most recently earlier this week when he suffered a medical scare during a flight to Los Angeles, although he is apparently “doing well.”
Here, Mail Sport takes a look at the veteran’s health situation over the years, following the incident and ahead of his fight against Paul in two months’ time.
Mike Tyson (pictured) will still face Jake Paul in a professional boxing fight despite suffering a medical emergency on a plane on Sunday
The pair will face off against each other in July, despite Paul (right) being 30 years younger than Tyson
The 57-year-old has had a number of medical issues over the years but will continue the fight
Spinal!
After losing to Lennox Lewis in 2002, Tyson sensationally claimed he had broken his back in the post-match interview, but went to work anyway.
‘I broke my back, my back is broken. Spinal!’ he said at the time, raising his eyebrows in a moment long lived in the memories of boxing fans, before delivering his words in 2020.
“Listen, I have a bad back and with all the work I’ve put in over the years, the spine in my back just starts to shift,” he said. ‘I have to have surgery, but the doctor said, ‘Hey, eventually you’re going to have to bend over.’
‘I tried to explain my situation. I just wasn’t eloquent enough to explain it the way I wanted it explained.”
Although it appears that Tyson never broke his back, he did suffer from back injuries. After the defeat to Lewis, he would enter the ring three more times, winning only once and losing the other two.
After losing to Lennox Lewis in 2002, Tyson claimed he had a broken back in a post-match interview that went down in history
He thinks he will die soon
During his 2020 podcast “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson,” Tyson told trauma and addiction therapist Sean McFarland that he felt his death was near.
“One day, of course, we’re all going to die,” he said. “When I look in the mirror and see these little spots on my face, I say, ‘Wow. That means my expiration date is approaching very quickly.’
In what was a morbid conversation, Tyson said that “money doesn’t mean bullshit to me” and that it provides a false sense of security.
He will certainly get paid well for his fight with Paul. And four years after the strange podcast episode, he still appears to be going strong ahead of his return to the ring.
In 2020, Tyson suggested he thinks he will die “very soon” in a morbid conversation with a trauma and addiction therapist on his podcast
‘S*** and painful’
Ahead of his fight with Paul, Tyson has claimed he prepared for a soundtrack of funeral songs and made no effort to hide the fact that the toll camp was claiming his body.
“My body is fucked right now. “I’m in pain,” he said. When it was suggested that the former heavyweight champion played possum, he replied: “I’d like that.”
Sparring footage has impressed fans, but it seems the real problems only arise after he hangs up his sparring gloves for the day.
“I think the people who say that wish they were here. Because no one else can do this,” he added. “Nobody else can shut down the sports world.”
Asked by Mail Sport whether this return would be a one-off or the first of several comeback fights, Tyson said: ‘This feels like it’s going to be quite fun, so maybe we’ll do it again… let me take care of Jake first .’
He recently said his body feels ‘s***’ and ‘sore’ while training to face Paul in Texas
‘Iron Mike’ has impressed fans with footage shared of his pad work in training
Bed bound
Before Tyson’s 2020 exhibition draw with Roy Jones Jr. shared, Tyson shared a clip on social media of himself in incredible shape, working out on the pads before turning to the camera and claiming ‘I’m back’.
However, it came at a cost. Although his goal was to get in the ring, he was prepared for everything except the build-up to the fight.
Speaking to Joe Rogan on his podcast, Tyson explained, “Getting in shape and getting conditioned are two different animals. They don’t even belong in the same division of training. Getting in shape means being able to fit into your clothes.
‘Being in shape means being able to get outside your soul. You can’t do that automatically. The emotional state you have to be in to prepare for that is mind-boggling.
‘I’ll tell you about the first training video, I made that video and I was in bed for a week. That was 30 seconds and I was in bed for a week. That wasn’t funny because it made me realize this is big boy s***.”
A walking stick and a wheelchair
Two years later, concerns about the boxing great’s health increased when photos showed Tyson bound to a wheelchair while also holding a walking stick in an airport terminal.
A month later, Tyson revealed he was suffering from sciatica – a condition in which the nerve that runs from your lower back to your feet is irritated or compressed – as he tried to clear up speculation surrounding his well-being.
‘I have sciatica every now and then, it flares up. When it flares up, I can’t even talk. Thank God this is the only health problem I have. “I’m fantastic now,” he said.
“Everyone in my house is truly blessed and we are all very grateful for what we have.”
The condition, which usually lasts four to six weeks, affects nerve endings in the body, with Tyson appearing to be suffering from complications related to his back.
Tyson raised concerns about his health in 2022 when he was seen in a wheelchair with a cane
Tyson’s fellow passengers were asked if there was a doctor on board to help him during his medical emergency earlier this week
Medical emergency on an airplane
On Sunday, Tyson suffered a medical emergency during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.
The former heavyweight champion became nauseous and dizzy, prompting flight crews to ask passengers if there was a doctor on board to provide assistance.
Paramedics boarded the plane – which had already been delayed two hours in Miami due to the heat – as soon as it landed in Los Angeles to provide treatment.
“Thankfully, Mr. Tyson is doing well,” his representatives told the New York Post following the incident.
‘He became nauseous and dizzy due to a flare-up of a stomach ulcer 30 minutes before landing. He is grateful for the medical staff who were there to help him.”