Days after a health scare on a flight, "Iron" Mike Tyson said on Tuesday that he is "feeling 100 percent," ahead of his highly-anticipated boxing match with Jake Paul - but said even if he wasn't, he'd still beat the influencer.
"Now feeling 100% even though I don’t need to be to beat Jake Paul," Tyson said in a Tuesday post on X.
Tyson is set to take on Paul in a sanctioned boxing match on 20 July in Arlington, Texas. The bout will be available to watch on Netflix.
The legendary Tyson will enter the fight with a 50-6-2 record. Nearly all — 44 — came via knockouts, but happened when he was much younger. It’s Tyson’s first fight in two decades.
Paul, 27, is the greener fighter, at 31 years younger than Tyson, but has won all but one of his 10 fights.
Tyson's update comes after a weekend health scare that occurred on a flight between Miami and Los Angeles. The 57-year-old Tyson was traveling to LA when he began feeling unwell, prompting flight staff to find passengers with medical experience to provide him assistance.
Paramedics boarded the plane once it landed, which caused a 25-minute delay for passengers trying to depart the flight.
The boxer’s representatives told The New York Post that he was "doing great" after the health scare.
According to his representatives, Tyson became "nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare up" about a half hour before landing.
"He is appreciative to the medical staff that were there to help him," they said.
The upcoming fight is sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations, and will consist of eight two-minute rounds rather than the typical three-minute rounds. Both fighters will be given 14-ounce gloves, which are heavier than standard 12-ounce gloves used in middleweight bouts.
As of 7 May, Draft Kings Sportsbook betting odds have put Paul slightly ahead of Tyson, with Paul at -180 and Tyson at +135.
Both fighters are expected to make eight figures from the fight, co-founder of the match's promotion company MVP Nakisa Bidarian told CNBC.
Tyson and Paul held a press tour earlier this month in Harlem and Dallas in separate press conferences, and hype for the fight has taken over much of the YouTube boxing community.
The highly anticipated fight event spilled over into the WWE, where Paul's influencer brother, Logan, is the current US Champion.
During a recent promo between him and WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes, Rhodes told Logan that a "WWE Hall of Famer" — referencing Tyson, who was inducted in 2012 — was going to "knock his brother out," and that "a future WWE Hall of Famer" — referencing himself — would knock Logan out at their King and Queen of the Ring Match, which took place on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Netflix will make the fight available to all subscribers at no additional cost.
