Mike Tyson tells Joe Rogan the real reason behind his return to boxing

[jwplayer smynPnSq]During his recent appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Mike Tyson explained that his return to boxing was actually fueled by a desire to lose weight. 

More than 15 years after he hung up his gloves, Mike Tyson sparked huge interest in a return when a video of him training again went viral earlier in 2020. 

After a ton of rumors, including talk of a third bout with Evander Holyfield, Tyson is now slated to fight Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition matchup – but he wasn’t actually planning on making a return to the ring. 

Tyson had previously told Joe Rogan that he was against working out and sparring because he’d fire himself up to fight again and he was purely training in order to lose some weight. 

“I was discussing with my wife, something about me being overweight, and she said ‘why don’t you just get on the treadmill for 15 minutes a day’ and it went from 15 minutes to two hours, Tyson said during JRE episode #1532. “I was complaining about my weight and so, I guess I tried on some clothes and it was disastrous, so I was worried about my weight.”

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The former Heavyweight champion added that as he started losing weight, ideas for fighting for “30 or 40 million dollars” were floated. While he wanted to dismiss them, it became an interesting prospect. 

“Who would they like me to fight? It’s Bob Sapp,” the 54-year-old continued. “So I’m saying to myself, I know Bob and I said hold, one minute, how would they like me to fight? Can I fight under Queensberry rules? The guy said yes and I said yes, I’ll fight him.”  

Segment begins at 0:20

While the initial plan might have been for Sapp – who is a former professional mixed martial artist and professional wrestler – Tyson is set to square off against Roy Jones Jr. 

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Despite the fact the pair are way past their prime, it’s still an interesting matchup for boxing fanatics who would have paid good money to see them trade blow while at the peak of their powers.