According to BoxingNews.com, boxing legend Mike Tyson has been struggling with depression since his bout against Jake Paul.
Tyson returned to face Paul on Netflix during the Thanksgiving holiday.
With Tyson’s age and health, there were concerns about him fighting.
Tyson is 58 years old and was looking at his first professional fight since 2005 against Kevin McBride.
It was very telling that Mike Tyson pulled out of the initial date. It is said that he suffered from an inflamed ulcer. Tyson admitted that he felt like he could have died.
Mike Tyson is not the same ferocious fighter he once was. Jake Paul outboxed Tyson to cruise to an easy unanimous decision.
The fight was a massive hit for Netflix and both fighters. Tyson collected $20 million for the fight; Paul earned $40 million.
The Effect on Tyson’s Health
Mike Tyson knew he wasn’t going to win. He also admitted that he wore a compression sleeve on his knee to cushion a potential injury.
Tyson also said that he could not remember what happened during the fight, even claiming that he blacked out.
Tyson continued, “I don’t remember the fight that much, I kind of blacked out a little, I remember coming back from the first round, and Jake is doing some kind of, I don’t what he was doing [a bow]. That’s the last thing I remember. I don’t remember [the fight]. But my body was really sore [afterward]. My chest, my stomach was really sore…The day after I woke up, I said to my wife, ‘Why did I do that?’. I just don’t know what the hell was going on.”
Since the fight’s conclusion, Tyson has said that he’s struggled to deal with life. He misses the training and the challenge of trying to prepare himself for a fight.
Tyson said, “I’m kind of depressed. That fight was such a big ascent—we were so up and high, we were so excited. The fight’s over, boom. Wow, I’m kind of depressed a little bit. We got to get back into our living situation, back to living. We were training for nine months.”
Since then, Tyson has gone on to challenge Logan Paul, Jake Paul’s brother instead of retiring.
Mike Tyson doesn’t have anything else to prove. He is a former undisputed heavyweight champion. Any more bouts could hinder his legacy because eventually, time and age catches up to everyone.
