Mike Tyson returns to professional boxing 19 years after his last fight: these are the neurological concerns of his 58 years

Mike Tyson captured everyone’s attention. This Friday, November 15, from AT&T Stadium in Texas, United States, the legendary boxer The American will return to the ring to face YouTuber Jake Paul, 30 years his junior, in a fight.

“Iron Mike,” 58, hasn’t stepped into the ring in nearly two decades. The last time was June 11, 2005 when he lost by TKO to rival Kevin McBride at the MCI Center in Washington DC

This is why the fight aroused great expectations, but at the same time concern for the state of health by Tyson. This, knowing that boxing is associated with a series of neurological complications and that he recently had a serious stomach ulcer.

Boxing, like mixed martial arts (MMA), is a discipline that, in the short and long term, can cause brain damage.

The above is because the concept of sport is that athletes receive blows and punches to the head, which leads to problems such as hemorrhages, dementia and so-called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), as various studies have indicated.

Dr. Nitin K Sethi, professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College, described cnn that because Tyson’s entire career has consisted of taking blows to the head, he may be at greater risk of neurological damage upon his return to the ring.

Sethi, who works as a ringside doctor where he assesses the condition of athletes, told the aforementioned media outlets that boxers aged 40 or older, like Tyson, cause more concern for two reasons. “First, I am concerned that the boxer is more likely to suffer serious head trauma in the ring due to his age.” he explained.

Then he added: “The second thing that concerns me is that this is a fighter who spent many years boxing professionally. You are concerned about chronic neurological damage” .

Some entities, such as the New York Athletic Commission, claim that among the factors that classify boxers as “high-risk fighters” is being over 40 and spending a year of inactivity afterward. the start of their professional career. Tyson meets these two conditions considering he’s 58 years old and hasn’t fought since the early 2000s.

According to Sethi, who usually closely monitors the physical condition of boxers when they are in the ring, the risk of the sport does not lie in knockouts, which are the blows that knock an opponent out of action and which can be the most shocking to him. the public.

The expert assures that in reality, the danger comes from the repeated blows to the head that boxers receive during fights and weekly training, and which accumulate over time. . “That’s why, when we talk about chronic neurological injuries in boxing, I personally think it’s the biggest problem,” he adds.

The cumulative effects of punches usually begin to become evident some time later, when boxers are likely not at the peak of their careers.

Initially, the fight between Tyson and Paul was scheduled for July 20 this year. However, almost two months earlier, the iconic boxer suffered a ulcer flare-up that made him vomit blood and feel dizzy shortly before his flight landed in Los Angeles, for which he had to be hospitalized.

Although it seemed that the medical emergency was not going to affect the fight, doctors ultimately suggested that the boxer not train for several weeks, so the fight was postponed until November.

Since then, Tyson has worked hard to recover and conquer the ring again. However, as described on the site Daily Mail , The athlete faces an investigation by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation due to his medical condition.

The investigation stems from Tyson’s recent comments in which he expressed his want to die in the ring .

“I went to the hospital and they told me I had a two and a half centimeter ulcer that was bleeding. “All my friends called me like I was dying,” the boxer recalls in the Netflix documentary series before his fight with Paul. “I just wanted to get out of this damn hospital bed. I don’t want to die in a hospital bed. “I want to die in the ring” he added.

Faced with these comments, Tela Morge, representative of the Department, explained to World Boxing News that “doctors appointed by TDLR will carry out exhaustive physical examinations before the fight and will analyze Mr. Tyson’s medical history with him.”

Tyson, who throughout his career has been the undisputed heavyweight champion, and Paul, who as a boxer has accumulated 10 victories, will face each other this year. Friday November 15 at AT&T Stadium, around 10 p.m. in Chile.

The event will be broadcast live via the streaming platform Netflix .