Mike Tyson finally reveals reason he fought Jake Paul despite health worries
Mike Tyson finally reveals reason he fought Jake Paul despite health worries
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Mike Tyson was worried he would be sued if he pulled out of the showdown with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul for a second time. The former heavyweight world champion announced his retirement from the sport of boxing back in 2005 after suffering a defeat to Kevin McBride. Boxing fans were left stunned when he decided to return in 2020 and take on Roy Jones Jr, but in an exhibition contest. His dust-up with Jones Jr seemingly gave him the itch to compete one more time, and the American announced his return to the professional ring last year to take on Paul. The pair were due to go head-to-head back in July, but Tyson, 58, pulled out of the bout after suffering an ulcer flare-up on a flight.
The two stars would eventually fight in November after 'Iron Mike' was medically cleared to compete. However, on fight night, his age showed as he was outpointed and outclassed by the younger opponent. After the contest Tyson claimed he nearly died in the build-up - with many wondering why he just didn't pull out again. In a recent interview with Fox Nation, Tyson revealed the exact reason as to why he didn't withdraw from the clash. "I haven't thought about that [if it weakened him]. I was worried about getting sued, you know, because I was like, God, they're going to sue me if I don't do this fight," he said.
"I had a bloody ulcer, like three inches. Kept bleeding and bleeding. And I had to have, what, 10 blood transfusions. Each time I do this, I was like the same doing Roy Jones as doing this one. My wife sees me screaming because my body is in so much pain. And I come home, I'm like, ah, ah. I promise I wouldn't do this to myself.". Last month, Tyson made a worrying admission after admitting he hasn't fully recovered from the Paul fight. He told the New York Post “I feel pretty good. I don’t know if I’m 100 per cent recovered, but I feel good.” Back in December, the boxing veteran admitted he couldn't remember a large chunk of the fight. "I don't remember the fight that much, I kind of blanked out," he told Fox Sports Radio.
"I haven't watched the fight. You know what I remember... coming back from the first round and Jake was doing some sort of bow... that's the last thing I remember." He went on to add: "I wasn't tired, I wasn't sweaty. I went to the house we were staying in, I left the house with my wife and kids, went to the after-party then went back.". Get all the boxing & MMA updates you need with our Mirror Fighting email update - sign up here.
