NEW YORK: Boxing legend Mike Tyson is returning to the ring to fight Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout on September 12. The 54-year-old has said that he is using a therapy that simulates his muscles using electric shock to treat the pain that develops during training.
In a clip that was shared on the video sharing app triller that is part of Tyson's series in buildup to the fight, he showed fans a sneak into his training camp and that involved a special machine operated by his strength trainer Brad Rowe.
""I'm getting ready to get rejuvenated. This is the electrician. I couldn't do this (training) without that, my joints would be all f***ed, no way," said Tyson as he got hooked up to the device.
"I'd be retired. Listen, before he got on the scene and it was good, but then there was pain. Those pains came back and I said, 'Wow, this is why I retired, this is why I stopped boxing.' And then I got this (machine). I mean, you can't believe this s***, man."
Rowe says that it is a "neuromuscular stimulator."
"It's a DC current, it's essentially enhancing our body's signal to recruit more muscle fibres. So you're saving wear and tear on the joints and tendons. As well as improving strength and performance," Rowe says in the video.
"I got a text out of the blue saying that his back was sore, come down to Newport and work with him.
"And I told him one day, 'Mike, let me get on you with the machine before you get in the ring. Let me see how much better you perform.' Literally within 30 seconds in the ring both him and his boxing trainer just stopped and looked at me. They're like, 'What the hell did you just do?'" IANSĀ