“Now feeling 100% even though I don’t need to be to beat Jake Paul,” Mike Tyson had tweeted on May 28 this year, hours after a medical scare halted his upcoming July bout against Jake Paul. The 58-year-old, who was on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles, reportedly felt “nauseous and dizzy”.

While the situation scared the community, the veteran’s representative officially reported it was an “ulcer flare-up”. Initially, the date for the fight was set as July 20, but due to the incident, Paul took on former UFC star and ‘King of Violence’ Mike Perry instead. Now that the fight will take place at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on November 15, the event is going to be aired globally on Netflix and is an exclusive for the platform. However, despite the buzz around the event, there are many who still have reservation. Case in point: Chael Sonnen.

The veteran painted a worrying picture about Tyson that raises more questions than answers. Sonnen shared an Instagram Reel, saying, “’It’s too hard to walk, but 2 months from now, everything’s gonna be just right,’ that’s a quote from Iron Mike Tyson. Mike pulled out, and was it a suspected heart attack or a stroke? Something very serious. I don’t say this at all to be fine, but I can’t remember.” Interestingly, there has been no statement from Mike Tyson in recent times. In fact, the veteran, like we mentioned earlier is more than ready.

Furthermore, the former UFC middleweight further shared, “Took Mike Tyson out of the fight. It took him off of an airplane. When he got off the airplane, he couldn’t walk on his own, evident of the fact that he was placed in a wheelchair.” While there was indeed a picture of Tyson being carted around in a wheelchair that went viral on social media and even Sonnen used that same picture in his reel, the image is actually from 2022 when Tyson had revealed being diagnosed with Sciatica, a nerve-impacting condition causing pain in the lower back and leg. For those unaware, Sciatica is caused by injury to the sciatic nerve that runs from the lower back, to the back of the leg and foot.

“I have sciatica every now and then, it flares up. When it flares up, I can’t even talk! Thank God it’s the only health problem I have,” he had revealed back then. However, Sonnen appeared concerned as he then alleged a lack of consideration against Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the event organizer. “And nowhere is a statement, a response or a thought by the overseeing commission,” said the 47-year-old a

Sonnen’s concerns aren’t just about Tyson’s past health scares. He questioned whether any athletic commission should even be allowing Tyson to step into the ring again. But Tyson isn’t even considering fighting Jake Paul as he…

Tyson is not in the fight for money but to “see who I really am”

With a 30-year difference in the ages between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, and the legendary boxing heavyweight’s recent health scares, concerns are running high among combat sports fans. Tyson’s past success as a boxer and several lucrative ventures have already made him financially comfortable, so, does ‘Iron Mike’ really need to take on this fight?

At the recent Cage Wars 67 event, Tyson was present as a commentator and shared an interesting glimpse at the reason why he’s still ready to step back into the squared circle. ‘Iron Mike’ shared, “I could be waiting on a check every day from cannabis. That’s bullsh*t for me. I’m a man, I want to go out there and I want to expose myself to risk. Sometimes I want to see who I really am”

His cannabis company, Tyson 2.0 was launched in 2021 and has since amassed a reported worth of over $160 million in 2023. With that being said, Tyson revealed, “To me, that’s all I ever knew how to do since I was 14. This fight is not going to change my life financially enough. This is just what I want to do.”

Tyson has always been a warrior, but at what point does determination become recklessness? Chael Sonnen’s concerns about Tyson’s ability to compete at this stage in his life only add to the unease. As the fight draws closer and closer, questions remain, can Mike Tyson really handle the physical demands of fighting Jake Paul? Or are we watching a legend push himself too far? Let us know what you think in the comments below!