Mike Tyson Gives Update After Suffering Medical Emergency Ahead of Jake Paul Fight

Mike Tyson speaks onstage during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Boxing match Arlington press conference at Texas Live! in Arlington, Texas, on May 16, 2024. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images for Netflix)

Mike Tyson, a former heavyweight champion and one of the best in boxing history, has given an update after suffering a medical emergency during a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.

Mr. Tyson provided the medical update a day after his publicist’s office said in a statement that he experienced an episode of nausea and dizziness due to an ulcer flare-up roughly 30 minutes before landing in California on May 27.

“Now feeling 100% even though I don’t need to be to beat Jake Paul,” the 57-year-old boxing legend wrote in a May 28 post on social media platform X.

Jake Paul, a 27-year-old social media influencer-turned-boxer, took to X on May 27 to address rumors that the bout had been called off due to Mr. Tyson’s latest medical scare.

“You love to make [explicit] up before knowing the facts for clicks / likes. Nothing changed #PaulTyson,” he wrote, indicating the Tyson-Paul fight is still slated for July.

Mr. Tyson, nicknamed “Iron Mike” and “Kid Dynamite” in his early career, is set to fight Mr. Paul on July 20 at the AT&T Arena in Arlington, Texas. The 80,000-seat arena is home to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and is one of the largest indoor stadiums in the world.

According to U.S. ticket exchanger Vivid Seats, top-tier ticket prices are going for as high as $48,500 each while the lowest-priced ones are listed at $88 each.

The much-hyped fight, sanctioned as a professional boxing match by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, will be broadcast by streaming service Netflix.

The matchup will be contested over eight two-minute rounds with 14-ounce gloves and no headgear.

Mike Tyson and Jake Paul speak onstage at the press conference in promotion of the upcoming Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match at The Apollo Theater in N.Y.C. on May 13, 2024. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix)

“Mike Tyson and Jake Paul signed on to fight each other with the desire to do so in a sanctioned professional fight that would have a definitive outcome,” Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founder Nakisa Bidarian told Netflix, according to a press release.

Mr. Bidarian added that the decision to reduce the usual three-minute length for men’s boxing matches to two-minute rounds was an effort to stay true to MVP’s belief that “the parameters of sanctioned matches should be determined by the fight (as opposed to adhering to traditional men’s vs. women’s rules).”

“MVP has championed fighter choice since its inception, including advocating for women’s boxing to be contested with two- or three-minute rounds based on the particular fight matchup,” he said. “Paul vs. Tyson and Taylor vs. Serrano 2 will both be contested with two-minute rounds, and each mega-fight will have its winner.”

Mr. Tyson, who will turn 58 by the fight date, said at a recent news conference in Harlem, New York, that he supports MVP’s decision to shorten rounds, saying it will result in more action in the ring.

“If we only have two minutes, we'll fight more,” he said.

Mr. Tyson retired in 2005 after winning 50 fights, 44 by knockout. He last stepped into the ring when he took on Roy Jones Jr. in an eight-round exhibition bout at Staples Center in Los Angeles in November 2020.

From NTD News