As ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson and Jake Paul get set to touch gloves in front of a packed AT&T Stadium, as well as in front of millions on Netflix, it should be noted that Friday’s contest could yet be cancelled.

The fight was originally supposed to take place in July, before Tyson was forced to withdraw from that date due to health complications. However, with his stomach ulcer issues now behind him, the 58-year-old looks ready to finally settle the score with social media sensation Paul.

Controversy has plagued the bout ever since it was announced, mainly because of the 31-year gap between the two participants. Paul, who is 27, has padded his professional record with a number of victories over combat sports legends who have all been well past their best.

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The likes of Ben Askren, Tyrone Woodley, Nate Diaz and Anderson Silva have all left their usual stomping ground of MMA to take on ‘The Problem Child’ in the boxing ring, whereas Tyson is considered one of the greatest heavyweights ever to lace up a pair of gloves. ‘Iron’ Mike still looks the part, sporting a ripped physique ahead of the fight. However, there’s no getting away from the fact that he is just a few years shy of his 60th birthday.

With that in mind, the commission responsible for overseeing the fight wants to undertake a series of last-minute checks – and the fight won’t be rubber-stamped until they’ve been completed.

Why Tyson Vs Paul Isn’t Official Yet

‘Iron’ Mike must pass two specific tests in the hours before the fight

The eight-round fight is being staged under the supervision of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulations (TDLR) and their rules state:

Mike Tyson made sure to “nip it in the bud” when a prisoner tried targeting him during his first stint behind bars.

The boxing legend was imprisoned in 1992 after being convicted of rape in Indiana. He was given a six-year sentence as well as four years of probation for the crime.

Tyson, then in his late 20s, would ultimately spend just under half of that time in jail, being released on parole for good behaviour. But that doesn’t mean he was an angel throughout his stay at the Indiana Youth Center.

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Naturally, there was a target on his back, having been the youngest heavyweight boxing champion of all time. So he made sure to swiftly establish he wasn’t to be messed with.

During an interview with Playboy in November 1998, Tyson was asked if he was ever attacked in prison. He replied: “People will try you. They’ll try the strongest. You have to be a man. They’ll try anybody.

“They start by saying something funny, something sarcastic, to see how far they can go. But you nip it in the bud. You don’t let anyone get away with saying anything funny or sarcastic.

“You have to demonstrate who you are right on the spot. That’s what I do. That’s who I am. I’m a settler. I’m in my glory in a place like that. Chaos all over. Yeah, they tried me a few times.”

The interviewer then questioned if anyone had pulled a knife on him to gain an advantage, with Tyson hinting that he too carried a weapon. “They had them, but they didn’t have anything I didn’t have,” he answered.

Iron Mike had countless run-ins with the law before, during and after his professional career but has since turned his life around. And he’s now set to add a 59th fight to his record of 50 wins, six losses and two no-contests.

He steps into the ring with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul this Friday (November 15) in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in a contest which will be broadcast live on Netflix. Tyson will be looking to defy the 30-year age to Paul, whose jeopardy is facing one of the hardest-hitting fighters in history.

Netflix’s second installment of Countdown: Paul vs Tyson, which prefaces the pair’s much-anticipated boxing match on November 15, peers into both boxer’s camps as they prepare to fight.

The contest has caught the public’s imagination, pitching Tyson against Paul, a 58-year-old legend of the sport, versus a 27-year-old YouTuber who has crossed over into the boxing arena after conquering social media. Boxing Hall-of-Famer and subsequent actor Tyson is an ex-heavyweight champion of the world, with a legitimate claim to have been the sport’s most visible and controversial figure of the last 30 years.

Many boxing experts also consider him to have been one of the sport’s best. Tyson had a 20-year professional career between 1985 and 2005, notching 19 knockout wins in his first 19 professional fights, before becoming the sport’s youngest-ever world heavyweight champion at 21 when he defeated Trevor Berbick in Las Vegas in 1986. Tyson defended the title nine times, appearing unbeatable, before losing to James “Buster” Douglas in Tokyo in February 1990 in what many consider to be boxing’s greatest-ever upset. However, 34 years on, the Tyson/Paul bout promises a new and surprising chapter in his career.

READ: Mike Tyson v Jake Paul fight was cancelled as distressing incident emerges

Tyson’s loss to Douglas signaled a spectacular fall from grace, both in and out of the ring. Before the Douglas fight, the multimillionaire’s private life had spun out of control; his tempestuous marriage to actress Robin Givens was rarely out of the headlines, and he’d split from long-time trainer and confidante Kevin Rooney, his only connection to the man who’d adopted him as a teenager and guided his professional career, Cus D’Amato. D’Amato death in 1985 hit Tyson hard, and he was ill-equipped for the fame, fortune, and public scrutiny that inevitably surrounds a world heavyweight champion.

There followed a highly-publicized rape conviction in 1992, which saw Tyson sentenced to six years imprisonment, gaining parole after three years incarcerated at the Indiana Youth Center. Despite regaining his world title, in 1997 a much-diminished Tyson surrendered his legacy and reputation in two losses to Evander Holyfield, the second by disqualification for biting his opponent’s ear in 1997. Tyson continued fighting for money, his drawing power intact, but by 2005, after an embarrassing loss to journeyman Kevin McBride, he quit the sport.

The McBride fight appeared to have put Mike Tyson’s fighting ambitions to bed: “I felt like I was 120 years old. I don’t think I have it anymore,” he told The New York Times after the fight. He retired to an upscale enclave, Paradise Valley, near Phoenix, Arizona to spend time with his 350 prize pigeons, a lifelong obsession. There remained several brushes with the law, a much-publicized declaration of bankruptcy in 2003 with debts of more than $20 million, and many visits to rehabilitation centers to try to conquer issues with depression, drugs, and alcohol addiction.

In 2013, he published his autobiography, Undisputed Truth, in which he gave an honest and unexpurgated account of his life and troubles. The book ushered in a new relationship between Tyson and his audience and led to an international Undisputed Truth Tour, in which a visibly overweight Tyson surprised and excelled on stage as he recounted his life experiences and missteps. Approaching 50, out of shape, and with some stability in his private life, a return to the ring appeared highly unlikely.

While there are undoubtedly many factors behind Tyson’s decision to fight Paul, the former champion has been fairly candid when it comes to his motivation. He has dismissed claims that it is a purely financial move. While commentating at a Cage Wars MMA event (via The Daily Mirror), Tyson described such accusations as “Bull****,” adding:

“I’m a man; I want to go out there and I want to expose myself to risk. Sometimes I want to see who I really am. I want to see what I’m really made out of. I want to perform in front of the world. To me, that’s all I ever knew how to do since I was 14. This fight is not going to change my life financially enough. This is just what I want to do.”

This suggests that there is something more to Tyson’s decision than the financial implications.

In 2020, a newly energized Tyson, slimmed down and with his demons apparently under control, announced an exhibition fight with fellow boxing legend Roy Jones Jnr, then 51, and himself a former multi-weight world champion. Tyson’s share of the purse was rumored to exceed $10 million and, while some pundits had conjectured that the two old pugilists might not be able to curb their natural instincts, they in fact tip-toed through eight somewhat insipid rounds of action, after which three judges awarded a draw. Tyson announced afterward that he’d like to fight more exhibition bouts.

In Countdown: Paul vs Tyson, the old champion is seen training hard and appears to have recovered a little of his trademark menace. He’s shown bashing up his padded-up coaches and heavy bags, looking fit and fabulous against a static opponent that doesn’t hit back. The docuseries, of course, plays down the recurring sciatica that had him wheelchair-bound, causing a postponement of the fight last June, or the ulcers he suffers from, or the general physical dissipation that accompanies mid/old age. This Paul-Tyson fight is not an exhibition, and real punches will be thrown.

Mike Tyson, the former undisputed heavyweight world champion, has disclosed that his affluent acquaintances have proposed financial incentives for him to withdraw from his forthcoming clash with Jake Paul.

The 58 year old is set to make an extraordinary comeback to the ring on November 15 against the YouTuber-turned-boxer.

The eagerly anticipated fight is scheduled to take place at the AT&T Stadium in Texas, potentially drawing a crowd of up to 80,000 spectators. ‘Iron Mike’ was initially slated to face ‘The Problem Child’ earlier this year but had to pull out due to an ulcer flare-up during a flight.

READ: Mike Tyson makes honest admission about purse for Jake Paul fight

Despite the setback, the bout was rescheduled, and Tyson insists he will be ready to fight next Friday. Nonetheless, concerns linger over Tyson’s wellbeing, given the 31-year age gap between him and Paul.

Prominent boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is expected to be present at the AT&T Stadium to back Katie Taylor in her highly anticipated rematch with Amanda Serrano. However, Hearn has stated he will not stay for the headline event.

Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: “We received a massive offer for Katie. I’m not going to tell her she’s not allowed to fight on that card,” adding, “Financially it’s the biggest purse of her career. I won’t be watching the main event. We’ll be there defending the belts, and then I’ll be off”, reports the Mirror.

Hearn is not the only detractor of the heavyweight clash. Exclusive behind-the-scenes content from Tyson’s training camp was released on Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) YouTube channel, offering glimpses into his preparation for the upcoming fight.

In a candid moment captured during a break in training, ‘Iron Mike’ shared with his coaching staff that several affluent friends had desperately implored him to avoid entering the ring with the younger American opponent. He recounted their words and his reaction: “I have some friends, they’re pretty wealthy”, he shared.

“They said, ‘Don’t fight, I give you money’. [I’m like] ‘You f****** crazy? ‘”. His return to the ring came after a harrowing health scare that led to the postponement of the original fight date.

In a confession made during a Netflix documentary, Tyson revealed a distressing incident prior to the fight where he collapsed, vomiting blood. “A week and a half ago I was training and I was doing great but then all of a sudden I started feeling tired,” he disclosed.

“I was explaining to my trainer, ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me’.”

He continued, recounting his ordeal whilst travelling: “Coming here from Miami on the plane, I went to the bathroom and I threw up blood. The next thing I know I’m on the floor, I was defacating tar. So I came here and they found I had a big ulcer, two-and-a-half inches, and it was bleeding. All my friends were calling me like I was dying.”

Tyson expressed his desire to fight, saying: “I asked the doctor if I was going to die and she didn’t say no. She said we have options though, and that’s when I got nervous. I can’t wait to get out of this motherf***er, man. God, I want to fight and start training. I don’t want to die in the hospital bedroom, I want to die in the ring. You wouldn’t believe what I endured from my ulcer. I lost 26 pounds, can you imagine that? I was so p***ed off because I had peaked. I was good, talking s***, ready”. Tyson last fought professionally in 2005, retiring on the stool against Kevin McBride, but did participate in an exhibition bout against Roy Jones Jr four years ago.

Meanwhile, Paul, 27, is coming off a notable victory against Mike Perry in July.