Back in the summer, fight fans were anxiously awaiting the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul boxing match. However, the former heavyweight champion was forced out for undisclosed medical reasons.
Many wondered if the planned bout would fall by the wayside and we would hear nothing more from it. That is not the case, though, as Tyson and Paul will square off next weekend live on Netflix.
Tyson, meanwhile, has explained just what caused the fight to be delayed from July. It turns out the 58-year-old suffered a serious medical issue during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles in late May.
“I went to the bathroom and I threw up blood,” Tyson says during an interview on the special “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson” series (thanks to MMA Junkie for the quotes). “The next thing I know I’m on the floor. I was defecating tar.”
Turns out Tyson was suffering from a bleeding ulcer that was over two inches. He noted that the incident came following a letdown in his training and resulted in a 26-pound weight loss.
“I was doing great and then all of a sudden I started feeling tired,” Tyson said. “I was explaining to my trainer, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
Tyson asked the doctor taking care of him if he was going to die, to which she responded by not saying “no” but that “we have options.”
A few weeks later, Tyson was back to training for Paul and the bout.
Two Title Fights Part Of Jake Paul-Mike Tyson Card
Along with the heavyweight main event between Paul and Tyson, two championship matches will take place live on Netflix from Arlington Stadium outside of Dallas.
Katie Taylor puts her WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring women’s lightweight titles on the line vs. Amanda Serrano. The bout will be a rematch of a 2022 bout won by Taylor. Mario Barrios defends his WBC welterweight belt vs. Abel Ramos.
Other planned matches include Neeraj Goyat vs. Whindersson Nunes, Shadasia Green vs. Melinda Watpool, Lucas Bahdi vs. Corey Marksman and Bruce Carrington vs. Dana Coolwell.
