Mike Tyson hasn’t fought in a sanctioned fight since June 2005 and is 58 years old, leading people to question whether his fight against Jake Paul is real.
As for Tyson, his answer was simple.
"Yes, yes, it is. When you were just talking about Kevin McBride, my whole desire for boxing was just shot. I didn’t want to box, I was using drugs, I was drinking a lot, I was just doing a promiscuous lifestyle," Tyson said during a recent appearance on "Let’s Go! With Bill Belichick, Maxx Crosby, Peter King, and Jim Gray."
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"And I’d been through, I don’t know a psychedelic breakthrough when I used the toad (venom) I was telling you about that before, and it just changed my whole outlook on life. I just said I wanted to fight again."
Toad venom is produced during the toad’s defense secretion. The secretions contain 5-MeO-DMT, which is a psychoactive compound.
In his last sanctioned bout, Tyson lost in six rounds to McBride by technical knockout, quitting on his stool before the seventh round. At the time of the stoppage, Tyson led on two of the three scorecards.
Over 19 years later, since losing to McBride, even Tyson is surprised that he is going to be back in the ring again.
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"I’m boxing eight rounds every day, I’m just ready. I fooled myself, I can’t believe I’m at this stage of my life right now where I’m ready to go in there and fight," Tyson said.
Jim Gray asked whether the "Iron Mike Tyson" is back for the fight, the version of Tyson "who is an a------, a legitimate p---- who wants to beat the hell out of everybody, it doesn’t matter what walk of life they are in."
Tyson doesn’t think he needs "Iron Mike Tyson" for this fight.
"You know at this stage of my life I don’t need (Iron Mike Tyson) to kick this guy’s a--. You know, there is no need to have that guy in my life anymore, not even for combat. There is no need for him in my life no more."
Tyson has a 50-6 record, with 44 KOs, while Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, comes in with a 10-1 record with 7 KOs.
Paul (6-foot-1) is taller than Tyson (5-foot-10) and has 76 inches of reach, compared to Tyson’s 71 inches.
The highly anticipated fight will take place at AT&T Stadium on Friday at 8:00 p.m. ET, streaming exclusively on Netflix.
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