ARLINGTON, Texas – Mike Tyson, who struggled to complete eight rounds of boxing Friday night, hinted he might fight again.
The moment came during a post-fight interview, when Netflix reporter Ariel Helwani asked the 58-year-old Tyson if his loss to Jake Paul by unanimous decision at AT&T Stadium could be his last fight.
“I don’t think so,’’ replied the former world heavyweight champion.
Maybe Tyson just needed a good night’s sleep. Or time to reflect. Or to confer with trusted advisers.
But there are reasons to think his answers was more than a stray thought.
James Spraggins, a personal trainer who worked with Tyson for about three years, pointed to a “Baddest Man Over 50’’ Tournament. Championship Rounds, a news and media website, in February posted on Instagram about the prospective event.
On Feb. 6, From The Stands, a media group that covers MMA, posted on Instagram:
‘Per sources, the four combat sports legends that have been targeted for the ‘baddest man over 50’ tournament are Mark Hunt, Mike Tyson, David Tua and Lennox Lewis. Three out of the four targeted participants have verbally agreed on the idea.’
Tyson has not commented publicly about the tournament, but the concept is not new to him.
A similar idea was kicked around in 2020 when Tyson was involved with the formation of Mike Tyson’s Legends Only League, LLC.
The company launched with Tyson’s exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr. in November 2020, when he was 54 and Jones was 51.
At the time, representatives of the company said the Tyson-Jones fight generated 1.6 million pay per views at $49.99 apiece. But all of this was long before Friday night, when Tyson looked more like the Oldest Man on the Planet rather than than the Baddest Man on the Planet.
When Helwani asked Tyson what he had in mind, Tyson suggested he might fight Paul’s older brother, Logan, who was in the ring and looked shocked.
“I’ll kill you, Mike,’’ Logan said.
Tyson grinned.
“Then it’s on,’’ Tyson replied, looking too exhausted to go another round or make any long-term decisions.