Boxing heavyweight legend Mike Tyson is "doing great" after suffering a medical emergency while on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles, seeing paramedics rush onto the plane at LAX less than two months out from his professional return to the squared circle against Jake Paul on Netflix. Tyson began feeling nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare-up, his reps have confirmed.
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"Thankfully Mr. Tyson is doing great. He became nauseous and dizzy due to an ulcer flare up 30 minutes before landing. He is appreciative to the medical staff that were there to help him," a statement read.
According to In Touch, paramedics were alerted before the plane landed on Sunday as an announcement for a doctor was issued. “Mike had some kind of medical emergency on the plane and paramedics boarded,” an eyewitness told the outlet. “Before the paramedics arrived the flight issued an announcement asking for a doctor — the message even came on everyone’s screens."
Once the plane landed in LA, passenger departure off American Airlines flight 1815 was delayed while paramedics attended to the former heavyweight King. "He was in first class, but we were an exit row and the stewardess was very chatty. They asked us to stay on the plane and landed so paramedics could enter,” the eyewitness added. "She said something like, ‘He’s a really important passenger so we wanna make sure he’s OK.’ I knew it was him, but I just mouthed the words ‘Mike Tyson’ and she nodded her head yes.”
The latest health scare will raise questions over Tyson's scheduled professional comeback fight against YouTube star-turned-boxer, Paul, who's three decades his junior and in his Prime. Concerns over Tyson's health were prominent at the time of the fight's announcement, with Iron Mike previously been spotted using a support cane. Sparring footage was released, though, to show the 57-year-old is still in decent shape and can pack a punch, like the old days.
Tyson last fought in an exhibition against fellow retired boxing great, Roy Jones Jr., in 2020. Before that, his last sanctioned professional bout was a TKO loss to Kevin McBride in June 2005.
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Tyson and Paul will throw down on July 20 inside the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, if the latest health scare doesn't throw the main event out of the window. Over 90,000 fans are expected to be in attendance for the fight, which will also be streamed on Netflix, as the streaming giant looks to make its way into broadcasting live sports events. "It's crazy to think about but as many people as can fit in the stadium, I think it's 90,000 or 93,000," he told TMZ Sports. "I think it's going to be packed to the brim and the global viewership could be in the hundreds of millions. It's wild and it doesn't make any sense but the fact Netflix are part of this is the perfect piece of the puzzle.
"It makes it the perfect trifecta of Netflix's audience, my audience and Mike Tyson's audience. And to the kids at home, [it says] don't listen to the critics. Do you and don't be afraid to knock down the doors of opportunity because you truly never know where it's going to lead you."