Why was the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul postponed to November?

by Junna Base November 7, 2024

Anticipation for Mike Tyson’s heavyweight bout against Jake Paul is at an all-time high with the fight still just over a week away.

Since the fight was first announced in March, the number has steadily increased, but a four-month delay from the fight’s original date has only increased fans’ appetites.

The fight was scheduled for July 20, but about six weeks before the scheduled fight, Tyson suffered an ulcer attack on a flight to Los Angeles that sent him to the hospital. Tyson recovered quickly but had to slow down his training camp, which ultimately led to the fight being postponed until November 15th.

Netflix’s three-part documentary series Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson took a look behind the scenes as Tyson recovered from the injury and returned to training.

Why was the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul postponed?

For Tyson, the warning signs were apparent even before he boarded his flight from Miami to Los Angeles. He began to feel a difference in his training, which had been going smoothly up to that point.

“A week and a half ago I was training and I was feeling great, and then all of a sudden I felt tired,” Tyson said in the documentary. “And I explained it to my coach, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Tyson, 58, reportedly suffered the outburst about 30 minutes before the plane landed. At first he felt nausea and dizziness before major warning signs emerged.

“When I came here on the plane from Miami, I went to the toilet and vomited blood. The next thing I know I’m on the floor…” Tyson said. “When I got (to the hospital) they said I had a big ulcer, five centimeters in size, it was bleeding. All my friends were calling me like I was dying.”

The news came as a shock to Paul, who has long idolized Tyson.

“I consider Mike Tyson a murderer, so I never really expected anything like this,” he said in the documentary.

Tyson said he lost 26 pounds after the injury but was still able to return to full training by the end of the summer. Tyson had no further medical complications as his training camp continued under the direction of long-time trainer and Cus D’Amato product Billy White.

“God, I want to fight and start training,” Tyson said in his hospital room. “I don’t want to die in a hospital bedroom, I want to die in the ring.”

Tyson’s return to the ring will be his first fight since an exhibition bout against fellow Hall of Fame boxer Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. The fight will be broadcast live on Netflix, free to all subscribers, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The main support for Paul vs. Tyson is a highly anticipated rematch between two of the greatest fighters of all time, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano, who are fighting for Taylor’s undisputed junior welterweight title.

Harrison Campbell covers boxing for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @hccamp.

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