“I almost died in June,” said ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson in his post-fight message to fans. Nearly nineteen years after Kevin McBride stopped him in the sixth round, the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history stepped into the ring once again to face 27-year-old Jake Paul. The special rules fight—eight, two-minute rounds—ended in a unanimous loss for Tyson. After the match, the beloved icon reached out to millions of fans spread across the world.

Including Jake Paul, almost everyone was touched by ‘Iron’ Mike’s heartwarming gesture. Many thanked their stars as they saw one of the all-time greatest for perhaps one last time in the ring. In the post, Tyson shed some light on the health scare he experienced during the lead-up to the fight’s originally scheduled date. Late in May, reports came that he suffered a mid-flight ulcer flare-up. As a result, the July 20 card was canceled and later postponed to November 15. ‘Iron’ Mike shared some specifics during a conversation with his close friend Sean McFarland aka Seano.

On his November 17 post, Mike Tyson had written, “Had 8 blood transfusions. I lost half my blood and 25 pounds in the hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won.” On the iHeart podcast’s latest episode, ‘Mike Tyson: Rise, Fall, and Rebirth’, Sean McFarland, an addiction therapist, pointed at the incident that nearly took away the former champion’s life before his fight in July.

Mike Tyson revealed to Sneako, “I had a ruptured ulcer, and for a week I was, I was. I was training tremendously. Everything went great, and then I got sick.” Reportedly, the medical scare occurred while Tyson was on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles.

The world turned topsy-turvy as he fell sick. According to ‘Iron’ Mike, consumption of some processed food might have been the cause. He even recalled telling his wife, Ms. Lakiha Spicer, not to buy processed foods anymore. “I had told my wife to stop buying processed food because I ate some processed gummies and some pretzels. Let’s take one or two of them. And then my stomach started hurting,” he narrated.

Mike Tyson: When things looked bleak

He received an IV infusion after passing out while still in flight. He had no idea what was going on. Later, when they landed, he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. According to Mike Tyson, he received eight blood transfusions during the treatment that lasted nearly eleven or twelve days. Additionally, he lost nearly 25 pounds.

What aggravated his tension was the attending physician’s response. After a slew of tests and examinations, Tyson asked the doctor whether he was going to die. “And that didn’t make us feel good. So I just didn’t like when the doctor said, ‘I can’t believe he’s still out on your miracle going on’…this was like my fifth blood transfusion when he said this. He couldn’t say that I wasn’t dead or in a coma.”

Sean McFarland sounded surprised when Mike Tyson mentioned planning for a funeral at the hospital. It was a ‘humbling experience’ for him. Thankfully, the situation eventually came under control, and a few weeks later, reports came that he resumed his training.

What is your view—should Mike Tyson go for one more fight or stop altogether?