Mike Tyson says he nearly died from a drug overdose, and that’s only one of the heavier admissions in a new Netflix documentary about the former heavyweight champion. The Spun reported the near-fatal overdose revelation on Tuesday, and The Sunday Guardian followed with a rundown of what the film covers: overdoses (plural), his addiction, a psychedelic trip on toad, his relationship with Robin Givens, and his fight with Jake Paul, plus five more items it didn’t squeeze into the headline.
That’s the full extent of what the reporting so far nails down. Neither outlet’s headline says when the overdoses happened, what substances were involved or how close “nearly” really was, so I’m not going to fill those blanks in for you. If you want the specifics, the documentary is the place, and I’d rather you hear it from Tyson than from a guy guessing.
The Paul machine keeps rolling
The Paul fight is part of Tyson’s story now, and the card it headlined is still producing business. Neeraj Goyat (21-4-2, 9 KOs), who beat Whindersson Nunes on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson Netflix card, has been booked to face former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis on Jan. 23, 2027, Bloody Elbow reported Wednesday. It’s six rounds at 154 pounds, billed as the biggest boxing card India has produced, with Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Chennai in the running to host. The city and venue get announced in November.
Paul is co-promoting alongside IPBL Boxing, and he made it clear whose side he’s on. “Anthony Pettis is an MMA icon, but this is boxing, and we expect Neeraj to show exactly why we believed in him from day one,” Paul said in a statement.
Pettis is 39 and turns 40 days after the fight. His last boxing outing was a decision loss to Chris Avila on the undercard of Nate Diaz’s win over Jorge Masvidal in July 2024, and before he gets to India he’s grappling Donald Cerrone at RAF 15 in Chicago on Nov. 28. He’s framing the trip as payback after his brother Sergio, the former Bellator champion, dropped a unanimous decision to Sabari Jaishankar in Hyderabad last year. “This one is for him, and I am coming to win,” Pettis said.
Goyat isn’t treating it like a hometown coronation he’s owed. “I have waited my whole career to fight a name like this in front of my own people. I am not giving that night away,” he said.
Sal’s take
I’ve spent a lot of years telling people to bet the fighter in front of them and ignore the story wrapped around him, and Tyson is the one guy where the story always wins the room anyway. A man who says he nearly died from an overdose, and who later stood across from a YouTuber on Netflix, is going to pull more viewers with a documentary than most active fighters pull with a title fight. That’s fine. Watch it for the life. Just don’t let a sad, honest film talk you into any of the nostalgia props the next time a legend laces them up. The one number I’m actually tracking out of all this is Pettis at 39 against a 21-fight pro over six rounds in Goyat’s own country, and that line should land well before January 23.