“I almost died.” Every Mike Tyson interview following Jake Paul‘s fight proves how the aftermath was just as bad as the bout itself, at least for the 58-year-old Tyson. The historic event became one of the most-watched live boxing matches in the world. However, when it came to action, it was evident that the old Iron Mike was in no shape to have a professional eight-round fight.

The Brooklyn native walked into the fight with a flared-up ulcer that required eight blood transfusions. He left the ring battered and with no memory of the fight. The only thing that worked in his favor was the $20 million payout he received. All these revelations lead to one obvious question: Why did Mike Tyson accept a fight against a fighter 31 years younger than him? Was the money worth risking your life for, or was there another reason behind it? Let’s hear it from the man himself.

In a recent interview with Fox News’ Jackson Thompson, the youngest heavyweight champion in history revealed that he was not in his right senses when he accepted the fight. “When you decided to fight Jake Paul, were you high on marij**na?” Thompson asked. As it turns out, Tyson indeed was stoned when the proposal came. “Absolutely,” he revealed unapologetically. The answer forced Thompson to probe further. “You don’t think you would have made that decision sober?” he asked. “I don’t think so. No, I wouldn’t have done that,” the 58-year-old replied immediately.

Mike Tyson accepted that he makes sensible decisions when he is sober. He would have thought about the decision and would have rejected such a dangerous idea. However, with cannabis clouding his rational thinking, he took the thrilling option without a second thought.

“Because without the cannabis, I am getting too involved with my feelings. You know, without the cannabis, I am very objective,” he concluded. While the former world champion has constantly accepted the Jake Paul fight as irrational, he has never regretted accepting it. He maintained the same tone this time as well.

After all, The Problem Child gave him one more taste of what the boxing ring thrill is, a feeling that Tyson will always cherish for the years to come. Furthermore, it seems like his performance was not as bad as many feel, with Paul recently acknowledging all the trouble that the 58-year-old gave him inside the ring.

Jake Paul bows down to the greatness of Mike Tyson

In a recent candid interview with The Iced Coffee Hour, Jake Paul opened up about the various aspects of his professional life, including the Mike Tyson fight. When asked what surprised him most during the fight in November, El Gallo hailed the 58-year-old’s agility and quickness.

“I think what was surprising about Mike Tyson is like how hard it was to hit him. Like his movement and getting out of the way of punches. He’s like lightning fast even at his age,” he revealed. That signature head movement, Peek-a-Boo style, impressed Paul, who realized just how far he was from that level.

“I got to see and understand like what made him an icon. What’s that style where he like just disappears out of nowhere,” he explained. In his prime, Mike Tyson made the peek-a-boo style his own and used it effectively to rule the heavyweight division. The CompuBox stats back Paul’s claims, as reportedly he landed only 78 of 278 total punches and connected on 31 of 179 jabs.

If the 28-year-old had faced ‘The Baddest Man On Planet’ in his earlier years, things would have been very different. Yet, even now at 58, despite the toll of substance abuse and physical strain, he remains far superior to the average Joe. Proving that “The form is temporary, but the class is permanent.” Despite that, accepting a fight against Jake Paul was not a wise decision and something that he should have avoided, if he could.

However, after the incident, let’s hope common sense prevails and we never see Mike Tyson fighting in the ring again. What do you think?