MIKE TYSON has revealed his ‘insecurities’ led to him ‘crossing the line’ and entering a ‘really dark’ place during his pre-fight press conferences.
Iron Mike earned the nickname of the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ – with that reputation also being down to his behaviour before fights as well as in them.
And the 54-year-old, who returned to the ring in November with a draw in an exhibition clash with Roy Jones Jr last year, insisted everything is real until after the final bell.
Speaking on his ‘HotBoxin with Mike Tyson’ podcast, the American said: “I was always crossing the line.
“I remember one time Larry Holmes put his hand out and I didn’t shake his hand.
“I was that kind of guy, I was really dark, because I was insecure.”
The incident with Holmes was not the only time Tyson would go into the zone pre-fight.
He and Lennox Lewis were kept apart to avoid any physical altercation in 2002.
But the former heavyweight champion ignored that and confronted the Brit before a brawl ensued, and later he also got into an altercation with a reporter.
Reflecting on his actions, Tyson said: “I’m a heavy dude sometimes.”
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After a number of controversies away from the ring, the veteran is back in unbelievable shape.
Tyson has opened up in the past on his drinking and drug habits while he fought as one of the most popular boxers on the planet.
And his prime athletic years were lost to addiction and a three-year prison term, started in 1992, for a rape he still fiercely denies.
He even took cocaine and cannabis moments before walking out to fight Lou Savarese in 2000, which he won in just 38 seconds.
His substance abuse then carried on after retiring from the sport in 2005.
But, Tyson revealed to Schaub he stopped drinking and taking cocaine prior to the success of his Hotboxin podcast, launched in early 2019.
The former two-time champion still smokes marijuana and has his own cannabis empire with businessman Rob Hickman.
Tyson revealed before his comeback fight that his wife inspired him to start training again in order to lose weight.
And after putting in the work, it inspired him to lace up the gloves again having previously been approached for a return.
