Mike Tyson is sharing new details about the health complications that led to the delay of his highly anticipated fight against Jake Paul.
Paul emerged victorious from the Nov. 15 matchup, a face-off between the two boxers that streamed on Netflix from Arlington, Texas.
Tyson spoke about his loss on X Nov. 16.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night,” he wrote. “No regrets to get in ring one last time.”
Tyson then shared that he “almost died” in June.
“Had 8 blood transfusions. Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won,” he wrote.
Originally, the match between Tyson and Paul was scheduled for July 20. The fight was postponed to November after Tyson experienced an “ulcer flare up” while on a flight May 26. At the time, Tyson’s representatives said in a statement that the boxer was “doing great.”
In Netflix’s docuseries “Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson,” which hit the platform Nov. 7, Tyson opened up about his recovery. Tyson said the ulcer was two-and-a-half inches and bleeding.
“I asked the doctor, ‘Am I going to die?’ And she didn’t say no, she said, ‘We have options, though,’” Tyson said. “That’s when I got nervous.”
After the hospitalization, Tyson had “to start from scratch” in his training, he told New York Magazine.
“It threw me off. All my coordination, stamina, everything was hectic getting back. I was peaked already. I could have fought him that day. Now I got to start from scratch,” Tyson said.
The Nov. 15 fight went a full eight rounds and was scored by three judges who ruled unanimously for Paul.
After the fight, Tyson wrote, “To have my children see me stand toe to toe and finish 8 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.”
Paul responded to the X post, writing, “Love you Mike. It was an honor. You’re an inspiration to us all.”
After the fight, Paul said in his post-match interview that he didn’t feel “Mike’s power” during the fight, adding that he went easy on Tyson during the third round.
“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt someone that didn’t need to be hurt,” he said.
Addressing fans who were hoping for a more exciting matchup, Paul said, “I tried to give the best fight I possibly could, but when someone’s just surviving in the ring, basically it’s hard to make it exciting. So I couldn’t really get him to engage me or slip shots and do something super cool or whatever, but I don’t care about what people have to say. They’re always going to have something to say and that it is what it is.”
Before his statement Saturday, Tyson said after the match he was unsure if he’s done with boxing.
“I don’t think so,” he said, per NBC News. “Maybe the brother (Logan Paul).”