Boxing champion Mike Tyson suffered a medical scare on his flight to Los Angeles on Sunday ahead of his fight with Jake Paul.
According to his representatives, the boxer had an ulcer flare-up, the New York Post reported.
“Thankfully, Mr. Tyson is doing great,” Tyson’s representatives said. “He became nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare-up 30 minutes before landing. He is appreciative to the medical staff that were there to help him.”
Tyson’s camp also said that his flight was delayed for two hours due to an air-conditioning issue on the plane, not because of any medical treatment the boxer was being afforded.
(L-R) Mike Tyson, Nakisa Bidarian, and Jake Paul pose onstage during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Boxing match Arlington press conference at Texas Live! on May 16, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images for Netflix)
However, the paper also reported that at least 25 minutes of the delay was due to Tyson’s medical scare.
Passengers said that about 30 minutes before landing in L.A., the crew used the plane’s communication system and asked if a doctor was on board the flight. The 57-year-old boxer was tended to first upon landing, preventing other passengers from leaving the plane for about 25 minutes.
“He was in first class, but we were in an exit row, and the stewardess was very chatty. They asked us to stay on the plane and landed so paramedics could enter,’ a source told the media. “She said something like, ‘He’s a really important passenger, so we wanna make sure he’s OK.’ I knew it was him, but I just mouthed the words ‘Mike Tyson,’ and she nodded her head yes.”
The last public event Tyson fought was in 2020, when he participated in an exhibition where he finished with a draw against Roy Jones Jr. His last sanctioned fight was in 2005.
Tyson recently joked that Paul will be no competition for him.
“He couldn’t even knock out [Nate] Diaz,” Tyson said. “Diaz is 40 pounds. He’s going to knock me out? Anderson Silva. He couldn’t even knock out the little guys, how’s he going to knock me out? .. He never knocked out a real man, come on. He didn’t knock out Tommy Fury. I’m going to f–k Jake up.”
Tyson also claimed he gave up sex and marijuana while training for the Paul bout.
Mike Tyson, 57, showing a first-person POV of what Jake Paul be facing on July 20th…
[ @MikeTyson] pic.twitter.com/UIVxmpHINR
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) April 7, 2024
For his part, Jake Paul says he is going to hand Tyson a loss to finish the champ’s career and also boasts that “one of us has to die.”
“I love Mike. I’m super respectful of him. It’s an honor to be in the ring with him. But I have to end him,” Paul said early this month.
“It’s war. All is fair in love and war. I love the guy, but as soon as it turned into a pro fight, one of us has to die.”
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