Why Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight was delayed to November?

On November 8, 2024By Littum

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

It’s been steadily building since the fight was first announced in March, but a four-month delay from the fight’s original date has only whetted fans’ appetites.

The fight was set for July 20, but about six weeks before the scheduled fight, Tyson suffered a flare-up on a flight to Los Angeles, which left him hospitalized. Tyson recovered quickly but was forced to slow down his training camp, ultimately forcing the fight to be postponed to November 15.

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

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

For Tyson, the warning signs were clear before he boarded his flight from Miami to Los Angeles. He had begun to feel a difference in his training, which up until then had gone smoothly.

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

Tyson, 58, was allegedly affected by the flare-up about 30 minutes before the plane was set to land. He first felt nauseous and dizzy before bigger warning signs began to appear.

“When I came 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…” Tyson said. “So I got (to the hospital), they said I had a big wound, two and a half centimeters, it was bleeding. All my friends called me like I was dying.”

For Paul, who has long adored Tyson, the news came as a shock.

“I look at Mike Tyson as a killer, so I never really expected anything like this,” he said in the documentary.

Tyson said in the aftermath of the injury that he lost 26 pounds, but despite that he managed to back to full training at the end of summer. Tyson has not faced any further medical complications as his training camp has continued, led by longtime 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 room, 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 game will be streamed live on Netflix, free to all subscribers, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Providing the primary support for Paul Vs. Tyson is a highly anticipated rematch between two of the greatest female fighters of all time, Katie Taylor and Amanda Serranoas they fight for Taylor’s undisputed junior welterweight titles.

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.