02 May 2024 , 06:00
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Mike Tyson, the youngest boxer to ever clinch the world heavyweight champion title, has opened up about his struggles with fame and personal issues. Ahead of his much-anticipated bout against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, Tyson admitted that he initially found it difficult to handle the adulation that came with his boxing success.
He confessed to "self-hate "and lashing out due to personal problems. Tyson revealed on the latest episode of Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios : "At first you want the fame of being a champion but that's... you have no control then. And that's when I first started getting in trouble, because sometimes I might be walking the streets, they don't know my mother died, my brother died, something about my family, I'm hurt and they just jumping in, 'Hey man, give me a picture. Hey man this. Hey man. I love you. Give me this.'"
The former heavyweight champion admitted that he often reacted violently when he wasn't in the mood for fan interactions, leading to several lawsuits. He said: "I might not be in the mood, so I used to be violent about it. And then, I started getting quite a few lawsuits and I stopped. I'm a glutton for pain, but I stopped. I couldn't sign anymore checks."
Growing up in Brooklyn, Tyson was exposed to a wide array of crime and illegal substances, reportedly landing in jail 38 separate times before turning 13. Despite boxing providing him with an opportunity to turn his life around, he continued to get in trouble with the law throughout his career - citing an inner battle within himself as the cause.
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"What got me into that stuff was self-hate," he said. "Not loving myself and taking care [of] myself. But once I got some kind of inclination of showing myself self-love and stuff, things start to change."
"And I'm not talking about love. Love is not buying myself a new mansion, a new car. Love is buying somebody else a mansion. It's pretty interesting I found that out late in life."
Despite all his struggles outside of the ring, Tyson continued to dominate in boxing, beginning his fighting career with 19 straight victories. He'd continue to fly up the heavyweight ranks, recording a 50-6 record and 44 wins by knockout en route to being named "The Baddest Man on the Planet."
Mike Tyson is the youngest boxer to ever be named world heavyweight champion (Gilbert Flores/Penske Media via Getty Images)As Tyson prepares to face off against Paul this summer, the 57 year old admitted that his faults are what shaped him into the person that he is today.
"I trained hard, and I partied hard. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be Mike Tyson. That makes me who I am now. ... That's because I have flaws," he said. "Life is about flaws, and learning from our flaws. Life is not perfection ... it doesn't work like that."
"This whole planet is one big school, and we're students," Tyson went on. "And just like school, some people learn quicker than others, and some learn really, really late. Everybody learns, even if [it] appears that they don't."