After his body betrayed him in a somber unanimous decision loss to Jake Paul, a 58-year-old Mike Tyson was asked if he still plans on fighting another night.
"I don't know," Tyson told Ariel Helwani during his post-fight interview inside the ring at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and live on Netflix on Friday night.
"It depends on the situation."
When pressed a bit further to reveal what his gut tells him about his boxing future, Tyson said he doesn't think the loss to Paul will be his last ring appearance. He then joked about a possible opponent in saying "I don't know, maybe his brother," humorously referring to Logan Paul who shot back "motherf—er, I'll kill you, Mike."
Tyson laughed and said, "it's on then."
Hopefully there's no truth in that jest and Tyson doesn't have another fight.
Boxing fans who watched Tyson in his prime didn't want to see him get hurt by Paul.
Paul, who refers to Tyson as the "GOAT," didn't want to hurt "The Baddest Man on the Planet," either, and seemed to opt to keep the bout at a safe distance all the way to victory.
That sign of reverence and love reverberated amongst boxing fans who despite possibly being disappointed that he didn't beat Paul, were thankful that he wasn't badly hurt above all.
Watching Tyson hampered by that right knee brace with limited mobility served as a reminder that Father Time is undefeated ... but he doesn't have to be.
There's nothing like doing the sport that one loves as an athlete and it's clear Tyson is a fighter who loves fighting.
But his journey and the many iterations it has taken on across his motion picture movie of a life can continue to explore and open new chapters.
Boxing fans are fortunate we got to see a near 60-year-old Tyson joke and laugh before leaving the ring Friday night because him possibly getting hurt would have been an indelible stain on our memories. ('Why did we force ourselves to watch this?')
So, as legions of Tyson fans — like myself — breathe a collective sigh of relief that he wasn't hurt, we humbly ask that the legend not put us in this precarious position again.
But more importantly, we hope "Iron" Mike doesn't put himself in this position ever again, either.
Thank you for all the fights, Mike, and the rounds of memories. Your style was impetuous, your defense impregnable, and you were just ferocious throughout.
Those memories live on, forever embedded in our sweet science lore.
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