The Serious Health Scare That Almost Cost Mike Tyson His Life

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Everyone is happy to call it a comeback after Mike Tyson dodged death in order to make it back into the ring for his much talked about Netflix fight with YouTuber turned actor turned fighter Jake Paul. Tyson and Paul's fight was originally scheduled in July 2024, but was postponed because of a health scare after Tyson suddenly passed out on a flight from Miami to Texas. Now, in a Netflix documentary titled "Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson", which was released the day before their rescheduled fight, The Sporting News reports that Tyson said of his near-death incident, "I went to the bathroom, and I threw up blood, next thing I know, I'm on the floor and I was defecating tar. So, I came here [to the hospital] and they found out I had a big ulcer — two-and-a-half inches and it's bleeding. All of my friends were calling me like I'm dying."

Tyson received multiple blood transfusions over the course of treating the ulcer, saying that he almost died after losing half of his blood. But the heavyweight champion is no quitter, as he detailed his trials and tribulations to get back to good health the same way he might talk about training for a match. "I lost 25 pounds in 11 days. Couldn't eat. Only liquids," he said. "Every time I went to the bathroom, it smelled like tar. Didn't even smell like s*** anymore. It was disgusting." Despite a a shady past involving bitten-off ears and prison time, it's hard not to see Tyson as impossible to knock down.

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When told that he had "options" for how to treat his ulcer, according to The Sporting News, Mike Tyson said that he immediately started thinking about how he could get back to training. And while boxing may be a game of ego, at the time of Tyson's health scare, both he and Jake Paul mutually agreed to postpone the fight so that the much-anticipated match would be fair. After all, there is around 40 million dollars in prize money on the line. The Sporting News reported that the already ridiculously wealthy Paul released a statement at the time saying, "My fans know I don't want to face Iron Mike at anything but his best, but let there be no mistake — when he steps into the ring with me, I will be ready to claim my W with a sensational finish."

According to New York Magazine, Tyson was cleared to return to his gym and resume training in July 2024. Then that August, Tyson and Paul reconvened at a press event to set the new date for the fight and get fans frothing at the mouth again. At the event, Bloody Elbow reported Tyson saying, "I'm beautiful and I've been training," adding that the doctors had given him the greenlight to fight. "I've been training for a while, two weeks or three weeks and I'm okay to fight... I'm in camp right now." Even though the fight's rules have been suspiciously altered to suit the two boxers, the hyped up showdown between the decorated legend and ambitious newcomer will finally happen. Regardless of the outcome, Tyson has already beaten the ultimate adversary in death itself.