Everyone got a good laugh out of Tyson wiping out on his daughter’s hoverboard back in 2015. But there were real consequences to the serious fall.
Mike Tyson has a big test ahead of him when he boxes Jake Paul in a pro boxing fight Friday November 15th in Arlington, Texas. Tyson hasn’t competed in years outside of an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr. in 2020. That was more of a friendly spar. The 27-year-old Paul is promising to knock “Iron Mike” out.
At 58 years old, Tyson is no spring chicken. His body bears the wear of a lifetime of heavyweight boxing, hard partying … and a bad hoverboard accident that Mike says destroyed his back.
Tyson vs. Hoverboard went down over Christmas 2015, at the peak of the hoverboard’s destructive power. People were eating s— on the flimsy devices across America, and not even a boxer’s sense of balance could save Mike from bailing hard on his daughter’s hoverboard, injuring himself badly.
Seemed like a good idea to ride my daughter #milantyson #cyboard #hoverboard but guess not… pic.twitter.com/Cjn4s22E5l
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) December 29, 2015
“Yeah, that ruined my life, I had to get surgery and everything,” Tyson said on the Art of Ward podcast. “My vertebrate and everything. I had to go to surgery for that.”
“You wanna laugh now? When I went [to the hospital] there were a bunch of other people that fell off the hoverboard too in the emergency room. I wasn’t the only one. Imagine, the same night, me and a bunch of people in the ward, what are you in for? ‘Hoverboard.’ ‘Hoverboard.’”
Tyson admitted getting on the hoverboard was his own idea.
“Mine, you heard the kids, ‘Daddy, please, don’t get on,’ — boom!” he said. “I can’t believe my wife put that out there. I hit the floor, boom. The whole floor shook.”
Fortunately, Tyson’s back has held up through training camp thus far — no bloody vomit or black ooze — and it’s looking like the elder boxing legend will indeed get into the ring against Jake Paul next week. For better or worse, the freakshow fight to end all freakshow fights is happening, and you can watch it for free with a Netflix subscription come Friday, November 15th.