Mike Tyson looked old in his eight-round loss to Jake Paul on Friday night. And why not? After all, the former heavyweight champion is 58 years old and hasn’t been in the ring in almost two decades.

But on Saturday, Tyson had another explanation for his lethargic and disappointing performance, which saw him breathing heavily and shuffling back to his corner after each round.

“This is one of those situations where you lost but still won,” Tyson tweeted. ‘I’m grateful for last night. No regrets about stepping into the ring one last time.

“I almost died in June. Had 8 blood transfusions. I lost half my blood and 25 pounds. in the hospital and had to fight to get healthy to fight, so I won.

“For my children to see me stand toe-to-toe and finish eight rounds with a talented fighter half my age, in front of a packed AT&T Stadium, is an experience no one has the right to ask for. Thank you.”

Tyson, whose last fight before retiring was a loss to Kevin McBride 19 years ago, said he felt confident about taking on Paul because of an entertaining exhibition against Roy Jones Jr. without fans during the pandemic in 2020.

But Friday night’s celebrity fight wasn’t close according to the judges, with one giving Paul an 80-72 lead and the other two calling it 79-73.

Paul said he took it easier from the third round onwards because he thought Tyson was tired and vulnerable.

“I wanted to give the fans a show, but I didn’t want to hurt anyone who didn’t need to be hurt,” he said.

The first live sporting event on streaming platform Netflix attracted tens of millions of viewers, with Paul suggesting it was 120 million viewers, while also saying the company he co-founded, Most Valuable Promotions, would provide figures on Tuesday.

According to reports, Paul’s payday was $40 million, compared to $20 million for Tyson. Paul mentioned his song at a promotional event last summer.

Organizers estimated the number of spectators in AT&T Stadium at 72,000, and this seemed like a legitimate number.

The AP contributed to this report.