Less than 24 hours after losing to Jake Paul in their highly anticipated bout, Mike Tyson says he has “no regrets” having entered the ring one final time at 58 years old.
But as he was preparing for his first professional fight in nearly two decades, Tyson revealed that his health scare earlier this year was actually a near-death experience.
Tyson posted on X Saturday afternoon, where he revealed that his ulcer, which caused him to go to the hospital, led to him almost passing away.
“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won,” the tweet began. “I’m grateful for last night. No regrets to get in the ring one last time.
“I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions,” he wrote. “Lost half my blood and 25lbs in hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight so I won.
“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 packer Dallas Cowboy stadium is an experience that no man has the right to ask for. Thank you.”
MIKE TYSON’S LEGENDARY BOXING CAREER OVER THE YEARS: PHOTOS
Paul commented underneath Tyson’s statement saying, “Love you Mike. It was an honor. You’re an inspiration to us all.”
The Netflix docuseries leading up to the bout between Paul and Tyson saw the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion of the world talking about what happened on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles at the end of the May.
“A week and a half ago, I was training and I was doing great and then all of a sudden I started feeling tired,” Tyson said in the docuseries. “I was explaining to my trainer I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Coming here from Miami on the plane, I went to the bathroom and I threw up blood. The next thing I know, I’m on the floor – I was defecating tar.”
Upon testing, it was found that Tyson had a 2.5-inch ulcer that was bleeding, causing him to have such symptoms.
“I asked the doctor ‘Am I gonna die?’ and she didn’t say no,” he added in the show. “She said, ‘We have options, though.’ That’s when I got nervous.”
Tyson was eventually cleared to return to training, where he says he needed to gain back his weight lost and continue building his endurance.
The fight, despite fans and critics opining on social media that it was a downer, saw Tyson last all eight, two-minute rounds against Paul, who was eventually ruled the winner by unanimous decision.
Paul did a bow to Tyson to honor him during the final ticks of the eighth round, and the two fighters shared an embrace afterwards.
Being that this was a sanctioned fight in the state of Texas, Tyson’s final record for his illustrious career is 50-7 with 44 knockouts, while Paul is now 11-1 with seven knockouts.
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