If you thought that the controversy surrounding Netflix’s super-fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul would’ve ended at the final bell – you’d be wrong.
The so-called ‘fight’ might have generated an insane amount of attention and traction for the streaming giant but three months later, the matchup still generates a number of shocking headlines.
Earlier this week, Jake Paul claimed that the legendary former world champion had masked a Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis in order to compete against him – ‘Iron’ has now responded to those comments.
Mike Tyson responds to concerns about his health after Jake Paul claim
During a recent live stream with popular online content creator Adin Ross, Jake Paul claimed that Mike Tyson had masked a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease thanks to his taking of psychedelic drugs.
“Ayahuasca’s really good for your brain as well. Same with Toad, Toad is what Parkinson’s… oh sorry, Toad cured Tyson’s Parkinson’s so he could come back and fight,” Paul said in front of an online crowd of thousands.
To absolutely no one’s surprise, clips of that Parkinson’s Disease claim went viral, with countless fans slamming ‘The Problem Child’ for allegedly leaking such sensitive personal information.
“Shameless bully piece of s—! He hasn’t changed a bit! Still a scumbag,” wrote one fan on X, with another adding: “Come on bro this is shameful.”
Mike Tyson, or rather his PR team, has now responded to the story.
“Mike is happy and perfectly healthy,” a spokesperson told TMZ on the claim: “He doesn’t have Parkinson’s or any other illness.”
Just a few hours after that story broke, Jake Paul walked back his claim; explaining on social media that he’d simply misspoken, and that the internet had run away with the false story.
“Bruh…Mike Tyson didn’t have no Parkinsons..WTF. Why the f— is the internet so stupid for. I misspoke. Meant he used toad to heal his pain. He has spoken about it many times. Just like I do. Just like many do.”
Mike Tyson admits fear of being sued meant he had to fight Jake Paul
Whilst Mike Tyson’s team have now calmed concerns over Paul’s most recent claim, there’s still significant backlash over why the fight vs Jake Paul wasn’t pulled in the first place.
The bout had already been delayed once before after Tyson suffered a bleeding ulcer during a domestic flight and during an interview with Fox Nation’s Sean Hannity, explained why he felt pressured to take the new date.
“I haven’t thought about that. I was worried about getting sued, you know, because I was like, God, they’re going to sue me if I don’t do this fight.”
Even one month after the final bell, Tyson revealed that he couldn’t recall the fight itself, telling Fox Sports Radio in December “I don’t remember the fight that much, I kind of blacked out.”
In January, Tyson said that he still wasn’t “100% recovered, but I feel good.”