Mike Tyson admits he would never have fought Roy Jones Jr in his comeback exhibition bout if he hadn't been on magic mushrooms.
The legendary heavyweight champion made his return to the ring in November 2020 as part of a pay-per-view fight with Jones in Los Angeles. The pair went the distance to a draw, with over one million fans paying to watch the spectacle live in what was Triller's debut in the boxing market.
And Tyson has admitted he was on drugs for the fight, saying that he "couldn't feel punches" that were landing during the eight-round contest. The boxing icon is a major advocate for mushrooms, even taking a handful on camera during an appearance on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast the month after his fight with Jones.
"We don’t use [mushrooms] to run away," he explained during an appearance on The Pivot podcast, after being asked if his drug advocacy was at times self-medication for other issues. It helps me train, it helps me box better. When I’m fighting, I really don’t feel the punches. It’s really just some f***ing magical s***. You saw me just fight [against Jones]. I was on shrooms.
"I wouldn’t fight without them, are you crazy? And some weed. I wish I did this s*** during my career, I’m so f***ing mad I didn’t know about this s***. The word drugs is negative."
Psilocybin, the naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound produced by 'shrooms, is not illegal in combat sports. And given the fight took place under exhibition rules, the exact drug testing for the fight was not made clear at the time.
Tyson has been flirting with a return to the ring later this year, teasing possible fights with the Paul brothers Jake and Logan among others. He has said that if he were to face Jake it would have to be this year, putting a deadline on the encounter.
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"Anything is possible but it has got to happen this year," Tyson responded when asked about a clash with the YouTube star on the Jimmy Kimmel show. "That could be very interesting. He is skilled enough and I will give it to him because he is winning.
"Even if he is fighting fighters that aren't meant to be good enough, they should still be beating him but they can't. He is beating people that he shouldn't really be beating so you have to give him credit. He is doing good and he is doing things that are great for boxing. This guy has 7 million people following him every time he fights.
"The champions of the world don't have that many people following him so what he is doing for boxing is sensational. No-one should be hating on him, what this kid is doing they should be following him. He is helping everybody get money so why are people mad at him?"
Paul has indicated that he wants to face Tyson, responding positively to the respectful callout after having long shown interest in such a bout. He told Mirror Fighting in April that he would rather face 'Iron Mike' than his currently scheduled opponent Tommy Fury.
