False claims that Mike Tyson is dead circulates on Facebook

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Summary

A claim that a former American  professional boxer, Mike Tyson, is dead has circulated widely on Facebook.

OUR VERDICT: The claim that Mike Tyson is dead is FALSE; the former boxer appeared with Jake Paul at the inauguration dinner of Donald Trump as the 47th US president on January 20, 2025.

A claim that a former American  professional boxer, Mike Tyson, is dead has circulated widely on Facebook.

The claim was posted on a Facebook group by a user: News US1.

READ: False claim attributed to Ngannou about boxing bout with Anthony Joshua circulates online

The post contained an image of a crashed car and two other photos of Tyson at funeral scenes alongside a caption that read:

R.I.P. Mike Tyson Just Died In The Hospital, Along With His Last Regret….see more
It has garnered over 3,300 shares with 190 comments and over 100 reactions as of January 23, 2025.
Michael Gerard Tyson, an American and former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005, is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.

CLAIM

Mike Tyson is dead.

 

THE FINDINGS 

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE, as Tyson was at the presidential inaugural dinner of Donald Trump as the 47th US President.

Screenshot of the claim; insert FALSE verdict
Screenshot of the viral claim. INSERT: FALSE verdict.

A keyword search with the boxer’s name “Mike Tyson” on Google provided results of media reports as seen here, here and here of Jake Paul lifting Mike Tyson on his shoulder at the inauguration dinner held in honour of Donald Trump on the same day the claim was circulating online.

Paul also posted the video on his official Instagram page and tagged Tyson.

“Best friends @miketyson,” the caption on the post read. He made the IG post hours before the viral claim circulated.

Recall that in 2024, the duo engaged in a bout which saw Paul as the winner.  Two days after the much-anticipated boxing match, Tyson disclosed that he had experienced health issues in the run-up to his fight with Paul.

“This is one of those situations when you lost but still won. I’m grateful for last night.  No regrets to get in ring one last time,” he wrote in a post on X.

A reverse image search of the car wreckage revealed that it was from a fatal Texas road accident, originally featured in a 2023 news report by The Guardian.

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Further checks show that this claim has been debunked previously, with Tyson’s publicist, Joann Mignano, dismissing the rumors as FALSE. She told AAP FactCheck that there was “no truth to this.”

 

THE VERDICT

The claim that Mike Tyson is dead is FALSE; the former boxer appeared with Jake Paul at the inauguration dinner of Donald Trump as the 47th US president on January 20, 2025.

Fact-checker at The FactheckHub | [email protected] |  + posts

Seasoned fact-checker and researcher Fatimah Quadri has written numerous fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy pieces for The FactCheckHub in an effort to combat information disorder. She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or [email protected].

News US1 via Facebook.

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