‘I almost died in June. Had eight blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25 lb in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won’ – Mike Tyson.
Boxing legend Mike Tyson said he had no regrets about his defeat to social media influencer-turned-prizefighter Jake Paul, adding that he had nearly died in June because of health issues.
Tyson was beaten by unanimous decision on Friday (Saturday South African time) at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, with fans largely disappointed as the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion showed his age and was never able to generate any offence against his younger opponent.
Initially set for July, the fight was pushed back after Tyson suffered an ulcer flare-up.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in ring one last time,” Tyson wrote in a post on X.
“I almost died in June. Had eight blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25 lb (11 kg) in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won.
“To have my children see me stand toe-to-toe and finish eight rounds with a talented fighter half my age in front of a packed Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you.”
The bout was streamed live on Netflix, though hiccups during the livestreaming prompted more than 90,000 users to report problems at the peak, outage tracking website Downdetector showed.
The streaming platform was back up on Saturday, however, after the outage lasted about six hours in the United States.
Building up to the match, Tyson could not wait to put on the gloves to take a shot at Paul, striking the social media influencer-turned-boxer in the face as they approached each other at Thursday’s weigh-in.
The one-time “Baddest Man on the Planet,” 58-year-old Tyson returned to the ring for his first professional fight in 19 years against “ultimate heel” Paul in the wildly publicised showdown.
There was no love lost between the two as Tyson, who weighed in at 228.4 pounds, approached Paul and immediately slapped the 27-year-old in the face and offered a two-word televised remark before walking off stage: “Talking’s over.”
Paul, who gained a cult following on YouTube before turning to boxing four years ago, was far more loquacious, offering an expletive-riddled rant about his plans to demolish Tyson, who has a 50-6 record with 44 knockouts.
However, the match did not live up to its billing and fans were left largely disappointed as Tyson showed his age and landed just 18 punches to Paul’s 78.
Reuters
