Club Shay Shay - Mike Tyson

Episode Date: February 21, 2022

Shannon Sharpe welcomes in one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, the legendary Mike Tyson.Listen & subscribe to more FOX Sports podcasts: http://sprtspod.fox/applepodcasts#DoSomethinB4TwoSomethin & Follow Club Shay Shay:                                                                 https://www.instagram.com/clubshayshayhttps://twitter.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.facebook.com/clubshayshayhttps://www.youtube.com/c/clubshayshayhttps://foxsports.comHot Boxin' with Mike Tyson: https://www.hotboxinpodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wake up with football every morning and listen to my new podcast, NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal. Five days a week, you'll get all the latest news and the best analysis delivered by the time you get your coffee. The show hits every single game every single week, but I can't do it alone. So I'm bringing in all the big guns from NFL media like Colleen Wolf. Subscribe today and you'll immediately be smarter and funnier than your friends. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rapoport, and I have been professionally podcasting for 10 years. The podcast game has changed so much, and if you're looking for the most disruptive podcast in the world,

then subscribe to the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast today. We're talking sports, politics, pop culture, entertainment, and anything that catches my attention. Listen to the I Am Rappaport Stereo Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, one of the best things that ever happened to me is that my mother died. Why was that? Because my mother would have babied me. There's no way I things that ever happened to me is that my mother died. Why was that? Because my mother would have babied me. There's no way I would have ever gotten to a street fight.

No way I would have ever learned to stand up for myself. Hello, welcome to another edition of Club Shea Shea. I am your host, Shannon Sharp. I'm also the proprietor of Club Shea Shea. And one of the reasons that I have a podcast that I love doing a podcast is because of things like this. The guy that's stopping by for a drink and conversation may be a smoke, but we're indoors and we're not allowed to smoke, once

was considered the baddest man on the planet. He's the youngest heavyweight boxing champ, Iron Mike Tyson. Mike, how we doing? I'm doing good, Mr. Sharp. Let's talk about your podcast. You have a podcast called Hot Boxing. Yes.

What type of guests do you have on and what do you talk about? I have any kind of guests in the world who's willing to come on and it's wide open. Wide open. So you talk about anything? Anything. You also have a cannabis company. Now, let me ask you this. When you were fighting, did you smoke marijuana when you were fighting? Only at the end of my career.

Okay. The last two years of my career, perhaps. So did you ever think marijuana would be so embraced like it is now? And did you think Mike Tyson would one day own a cannabis company? I knew anything is possible. And I know, like I know now, I know cannabis and CBD is the future. Right. You can't avoid it.

So had you known the benefits that you can get from marijuana would you have smoked earlier in your career i always knew the benefit but it was just illegal it was just illegal so at no point in time could you so even in the off season you couldn't partake in marijuana i can i understand like getting ready for a fight but let's just say in between fights. You know, when my mind is cut off, it's cut off. I don't want it. If anything I love, like my ice cream, anything, it becomes my enemy. I don't even want to see it.

That's how I got over the weed thing. But then I started smoking again back in, I think, what, 87, 97. Right. So once you got back into it, it was harder for you to say, no, I don't want to do this anymore, huh? I couldn't stop anymore. You couldn't stop or you didn't want to stop?

Or had you lost? Go ahead. I didn't want to stop. There's no way I was going to stop it. I'm a totally different person without it than i am with it i've heard you say that the person that you are now sometimes you don't like that person because this person that you are now makes you feel weak do you believe that you could have been a a champion boxer back then if you were this person now? No, no, I couldn't have been.

This person, my biggest assets is all my flaws. Without my flaws, I'm nothing. Really? Absolutely. So back then, you had a singular focus. You wanted to be heavyweight champion of the world. But also, the things that made you great made you a very flawed individual. Well, there's nothing wrong with being flawed.

The only thing wrong with that is you don't know you're flawed. At the time, did you know your flaws? Absolutely. You know your flaws when you're born with them. You can't hide from them. you can't hide from them you can't run from them what do you think was your biggest flaw what do you think your biggest flaw was um just not training not taking it serious anymore but so But so that was, in the beginning, you took it serious because I saw the documentary with you and Cuss

when you was upping the cat skills, going to the Olympics, becoming the youngest heavyweight. You don't become that, Mike, if you're not serious, if you're not training. But listen, I was beating guys so easy. I didn't have to train. I was beating them. I wasn't taking it serious.

And those are bad habits. So do you think if you had lost earlier in your career, do you think it would have helped you become a better fighter? It was no way I was going to ever lose early in my career. Why? I was just, um, I was, hey, I was all defined by God. It wasn't going to happen. Jamie Foxx is set to portray your character in a limited series called Tyson. Is that project still set to go?

Hey, I don't know anything about any pictures and stuff. I'm just enjoying the moments I have now. Is Mike Tyson misunderstood? I think we all are. Nobody knows who we are.

Nobody knows our shadows. Nobody knows anything about our collective consciousness or uncollective. No one knows anything about anyone. What is it? I think we all, what is the biggest misconception that people have about Mike Tyson? I never knew they had one. So the PR the person that we see or the person that we think we know, that's who you are?

I can never be that person because I actually don't know who I am. If I knew who I was, I'd be a very limited thinking person at this stage of my life. You're telling me at 55 years old, I know who I am? You don't know who... I know what's going to happen tomorrow. I know it's not going to go any higher than this. This know who I am. You don't know... I know what's going to happen tomorrow. I know it's not going to go any higher than this. This is who I am. Okay, maybe we don't know the future,

but I would like to think at 55 years of age, you have a better understanding who Mike Tyson is than, say, when you were 15, say, when you were 25 or 40. Or when I become 60. we all change

in different stages of our life. Do you like the person that you're changing into? Because obviously you say you're different at 20, then you were at 30, then you were at 40, and you're 55, so do you like the evolution of Mike Tyson? Well, it isn't

over yet. Mike Tyson is going to be Mike Tyson. It's not that I'm a leveling or something I just am but you're constantly evolving would you agree we have to that's human nature yeah of course I am but do you I know uh some people are changing into things they don't like they don't like what they're becoming it seems to me that in the beginning you didn't like who that person was but you seem to be more at peace with who this person is i would say that's true what i was some of the documentary and i found your documentary very fascinating because i think a lot of of our our childhood shapes who inevitably we become as adults, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad.

Do you think if you'd had a two-parent household, a mom, a dad, brother and a sister, loving family, you could have became the heavyweight champion of the world? You know what, Mr. Sharp? You know, one of the best things that ever happened to me is that my mother died. Why was that? Because my mother would have babied me. There's no way I would have ever gotten into a street fight. No way I would have ever learned to stand up for myself. But what, well, here's the thing though, Mike.

When your mom wasn't around me, you probably wasn't still going to encounter some of the people that you had to stand up and protect yourself against. But it was ordained by God for me to deal with that. I don't navigate my life. You think I think I navigate my life to being a heavyweight champion? No, I don't do that. That's God. Let me ask you a question. It seems to me, now, Mike, you are very devout in your faith. When did you become like this? Listen, when you get around 51, 52, you start to begin a better relationship with God. Okay. Because your expiration date is coming up.

Who said it is? You might live another 51 years or 52 years. No, that's not happening. How do you know? Hold on. You just told me earlier that it's ordained by God. You don't know. That's what you told me earlier.

I'm not going to be no 150 years old. That's not going to happen. What about 100? Anything's possible, but I'm not going 150 years old. When did you realize that you could become heavyweight champion? When I was 14. And so what made you think you could become heavyweight champion of the world? Well, I had a great mentor, and he always told me he used to have me do affirmations.

So it seems to me mike you're like at a young age you were easily convinced he could have probably told you you could fly a spaceship and you was like okay i'll fly a spaceship absolutely 100 percent so so okay at 14 cuz convinced you or you start boxing, he convinced you, you can become heavyweight champion of the world. I started winning national championships. I started breaking knockout records. And I went to the,

I lost to the Olympic gold medal in the box office in Texas. And then eventually I became heavyweight champion. Once I turned pro, my whole life started changing, started beating everybody, beating them viciously. And then everything has changed. I became champion.

So you were supposed to go to the 84 Olympics, am I correct? Yes. And that was arguably the greatest team. You had Sweet Pea Whitaker, Mildred Taylor, Is that the Holyfield? The main 15. Incredible team. Unbel Sweet P. Whitaker, Mildred Taylor. Is that the Holyfield? Incredible team. Immortals, man. That's the best.

If I'm not mistaken, I think they won nine goals out of 12 that was contested. I think they won a silver and a bronze. Man, listen. They weren't playing around. Let's take the current state of the heavyweight division. Let's just say I take a prime Mike Tyson. What do you say your prime age was?

How old were you when you say Mike Tyson is at his absolute apex? 22. Okay, Mike Tyson at 22 years of age. How does Mike Tyson beat Tyson Fury? That would be tough. But, you know, there was guys that dropped him that was lighter than me what was the gentleman that dropped him that black guy yes yes yes the former cruiserweight champ so um and he's not a harder puncher than i am so i'm able to hurt the big guys right

but you got to get inside to get him he's six foot nine and a half with a tremendous reach. How does Mike Tyson get inside? I'll try my best and do whatever I know how to do. Let me ask you a question. Let's just say you're a boxing trainer. And the bronze bomber comes to you and say, man, look here. I need one more crack at Tyson Fury. I need you to train me to beat this man.

How do you do it? Going with the jab, he has to go all out for 12 rounds with him. Can't give him no room to punch. He has to go all out for 12 rounds with him. He can't give him no time by moving around. Can't allow him to think. He allows Tyson Fury to think a lot. He gives him a lot of time.

Let me ask you a question. Is it because he got into the game so late that he's looking to load up with that one punch? Like the boxers that came from an amateur's background, they understand, okay, I got to stick to Jab. I got to stick to Jab. But it seems to me he's just looking to with that one punch. The boxers that came from an amateur's background, they understand, okay, I got to stick to jab, I got to stick to jab. But it seems to me he's just looking to lay that one

overhand right to turn the lights out of the party. Well, most of the guys that he's fighting are not very elusive, so it's easy to hit them. So he's very confident when he hits them, he's going to knock them out. Right. Are you surprised that the fight went the way they went? I'm always entertained when those guys fight.

I think Deontay Wilder should fight some other guys, too. He'll do good, man. I just don't want him to get discouraged. He should be very happy and be ready to fight somebody else right away. to get discouraged. He should be very happy and be ready to fight somebody else right away. So, do you think

it'll be a better fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua? I would love to see that fight, yes. Because both guys are heavy punchers. I think Joshua is...

They're going to be winging. They're going to be winging. There ain't going to be much style. They're going to be winging. What about this new thing that's fighting where, and you protected one of them, but you guys were fighting,

Roy Jones Jr. and yourself. What was your thought process going into that fight? Were you trying to knock Roy out? No, I would never try to knock Roy, but we were sparring. We were fighting. But the thing is, we started a new genre. Now we got guys like Logan Paul doing this stuff.

So what do you think about that? What do you think about Logan Paul? I think Logan Paul is a big shot in the arm for boxing. No boxer's ever brought that many people to the network like Logan Paul did.

And I think he's good for boxing. He brings money to boxing. But don't you want to see him fight like a fighter and not fight ex-football players, ex-basketball players, ex-MMA guys? I mean, to give it credibility, Mike, he's going to have to fight someone in that genre. I think he should, too, but these

guys are very so emotional. They want to fight him so bad, they forget that he's a trained fighter. Right, right. And he's going to make them believe that they can really beat this guy because he's white with blonde hair and blue eyes. I'm going to kill him. And then they go in the ring, and then

something different happens. Yeah, what different happens is that they get touched. You had the famous saying, everybody has a plan until they get hit. Everybody says, I'm going to do this. I'm going to bob. I'm going to weave. I'm going to faint.

And then he catches them and be like, hold on, wait a minute. That didn't happen. They're sleeping. They're sleeping. And I'm looking at guys and I give them one assignment. Do not become a meme. Mike, how

do they let the man put him face down on the canvas? Hey, listen. That happens in fighting. I don't care how good you are, how great you are. If that don't happen to you sometime in your career, then you're not really a fighter.

Are you surprised that, obviously, you were the biggest name in boxing, and you made a lot of money. Are you surprised that the guys are not as active as you? I mean, you fought one year. I think you fought like 13, 14 fights in a year. Guys fight now once a year,

maybe once every 16 months. That's really bad for boxing because boxing is entertainment. Right. In the name of the game, you want the fans to say, when am I going to see that guy fight again? Right.

Until you get, until you have it like that, you're not going to make the big purse date. Until the time comes when a guy like Al Spence is known to a housewife that don't even go out on stage to take care of the house like a maid.

If they know, that's when they know he made it. Well, the thing with you, Mike, is that you were willing to fight. You would fight a Holyfield. You would fight a Razor Ruddick. You fought Bruce Seldon. You fought Frank Bruno. I actually saw the Frank Bruno fight that you fought the second Frank Bruno fight.

These guys now seem to be more concerned with undefeated as opposed to fighting. Earl Smith's supposed to fight Bud Crawford. I'm tired of you fighting over here and you fighting over there. Fight each other. Listen, and I'm not ever going to say anything disrespectful about fighting,

but some people need to have enough pride to say, listen, I want to go on a tour of being the best fighter in the world. Who wants to fight me? Right. But the difference is, Mike, is that you was willing to fight and you were willing to put undefeated on the line. But let me ask you this let me take it from this approach if i say mike you can fight john john johnson and make 40 million

or you can fight the number one contender and fight 40 million or the number 15 contender and make 40 million which one you're to choose? The easiest one. Mike, that's what we're seeing. That's what's happening with boxing. We want to see the best fight the best. In the 80s, Hagler couldn't dunk Hearns. Hearns couldn't dunk

Leonard. He couldn't dunk Duran. He couldn't dunk Alron Barkley. Listen, he had fought Duran, lost to Durant, made Durant quit, get ready to fight Tommy Hearns. He went up that weight, won the junior middleweight championship, came back and then beat Tommy Hearns and unified the welterweight. That's badass.

And you look at the 70s, when the big heavyweight, Ken Norton, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, there was no ducking. You couldn't duck anybody. They'll fight you in six weeks. After one fight, six weeks later, they'll fight you again. Yes. So why can't, do you think that's one of the reasons that boxing is losing some of its appeal? And we get guys that are YouTubers.

That's why YouTubers are taking it, because they're exciting. They're more exciting. They can't fight, but they're more exciting than the fighters. Fighters are not fighting competitive fighters. They're fighting guys that they're walking over. So you would like to see Earl Spence Jr. and Bud Crawford fight? Absolutely. And I want to see Errol Spence go up to 154 and fight Charlo Brother, too.

These guys want to be immortal. I want it to be immortal. I want the world to know my name to the end of time. They don't look at life. But it seems to me guys want to get the big payday, but they don't want to fight the other big payday fighters. They want to try to pick and choose and duck and dodge. It's like I'm worried about undefeated. These guys are not making that much money because they're not fighting those guys.

Right. These guys are not making five, four million dollars or three million dollars. They're not making that much money because they're not fighting the right guys. Let me ask you a question. Who do you think pound for pound is the best fighter right now? Wow, that's tough. There's a couple of them out there. You have to go

with Canelo, but there's still so many young up and coming lightweights. Canelo's almost on his way out. They got some other guy. Benavidez, he's a great fighter coming up. He'll be great. Man, there's so many great fighters out there, man. That's one thing they have is great fighters out there.

But who do you think, do you think there's anyone out there right now that can beat Canelo? Because he's gone from 154 to 160 to 168. He's basically wiped out three, four divisions. It's some new guys out there. The young man, David Benavidez, I call him the monster. He's tough. I would love to see Canelo fight him.

You think that fight will happen? God willing, man. If it doesn't happen, it would just be a shame to boxing. What about if Canelo fight one of the Charlo brothers? That would be a very interesting fight, too. That makes a lot of money. These are big money fights you're talking about. Right.

But I thought that's what you get. Don't you get in the box? Obviously, you want to make a name for yourself. You want to go down as an all-time great. But I thought the objective in a sport is to make money. Exactly. And you know what? These guys hang around like they're buddies.

If he was your buddy, I'd fight you to help you make some money. But here's the thing, though. I'm unblemished on my resume, though. He might put a blemish on my resume, and then you're going to look at me different and say I'm not the best. No, and then you become better. You become a better champion. You become a better champion. You become a better fighter.

Life is about loss. As time goes on, we lose everything. We lose our hair, we lose our teeth, and eventually we lose our life. Life is all about loss. Let me ask you this. What do you think is the number one skill that a boxer needs

to be successful? The desire to win. That's it? That's it. All you need is the desire, the will to win. Do you believe that was your best attribute? Yes. So what about the right hook to the body

and the uppercut, the combo? Nobody's been able to throw that punch like you, Mike. Well, I'm very, I don't know, like you say, fighting the spirit, it comes with my spirit. How did you learn that punch? Because I've never seen anybody put that punch together like you put it together. My mentor, Kusty Amato, taught me. Well, it seemed like you was trying to put that punch on Roy. But Roy, just every time you got close, he grabbed you. Roy said you was not going to put that uppercut on his mama child.

Well, he's pretty smart. Roy's pretty smart. He knows how to avoid punches and punishment very well. Let me ask you a question. Is there another celebrity match that you would like to partake in? I don't know. It's a possibility. People keep asking me, but

it's a possibility. Yeah, and you said money. It's a lot of money, isn't it? It truly is. But, you know, let's see. You know what I mean? God willing. Mike, let that sink in for a second. You're about to be 55 years of age, and people still want to see you fight at 55

as opposed to the guys that's in their early 20s, mid to late 20s. They'd rather see you fight than see them. Doesn't that say something about the sport, Mike? That's only by the grace of God, brother. That has nothing to do with me, the sport, you. Only by the grace of God. brother. That has nothing to do with me to support you, only by the grace of God. Yeah, it has something to do with the sport, Mike. They want to see a

55-year-old that's been retired for almost two decades want to fight as opposed to a 25, 26-year-old that's in their prime. That does say something about the sport, Mike. God is great, brother. Let me ask you a question. People ain't clamoring for Michael Jordan to come out of retirement, for Kareem and Magic and Blackbird to come out of retirement.

You know why? Because Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, LeBron James, all these young guys are doing what they do. So do you think people would be lining up to spend $70 to see Mike Tyson at 55 if Earl Spence and Keith Bur Keith and Bud Crawford was fighting? Listen, the thing is, this is what it is, Mr. Sharp.

When I come to do my show, I bring a circus with me. Right. I bring a circus. People like to go to the circus. Yes. They're not paying for me. They're paying for the circus I'm bringing. Mike, when you were in your prime,

there was no dilly-dallying around. You had to get into your seat because if you bull-jobbed around and you got, well, I'm going to make a grand entrance. I'm going to let everybody see me get into my seat. The fight's over. You're going back to your dressing room because you done knocked the guy out. It was a book. There was something about a heavyweight fight.

I've only been to a handful and I've been to one of your fights. There's nothing like it. I've been to a lot of other guys fight and I don't want to call no names, but there's a buzz around you around the heavyweights. The glory go to God, brother. That's all real. So we don't have to get back into it, but how did the incident in the mid-90s, how did that change Mike Tyson?

How did that, did that, do you think that two and a half years away from the game of boxing, do you think that had a bigger impact on any other thing in Mike Tyson's life as opposed in boxing? Well, you know, I was never the same fighter after I came out of prison, but it was just, I was still learning life. I was, you know, I was making mistakes. I didn't stand on the wall.

I did something. But the thing, Mike, is that your background, I think the thing that I read by the time you were like 13, you had been arrested like 38 times. Yeah, I was a street kid. I was a street kid. Street kids do. We get arrested. We rob people. We rob stores.

Anyway, we get money, we get money. That's why I was arrested a lot of times. But I got away a lot, too. Right. Let me ask you this Mike were you not the same boxer when you came out or were you not the same person when you came out?

Pretty much both pretty much both yeah I looked at boxing totally independent let's get money let's get money and Let's get money. And let's try to change our life, get married and all that stuff. So, proud of that, you looked at boxing as entertainment. You know money came along with it because you had tons of money.

You had the White Tigers and you had the Rolls Royces. You had the big homes, the palatial estates. I didn't have the love for it no more. I lost the love for it no more. I lost the love for it. When you were incarcerated, did you do any shadowboxing? Did you hit the heavy bag? Did they allow you to do any of that in there?

I wasn't allowed to use my... I couldn't use my body as a weapon. I couldn't make my body strong because it's a weapon. That's what they told me. So in my cell, I would just box all day and run and play for two hours. Were you isolated or were you in gym, Pop? I was in population, but I was isolated a lot. I got into a lot of altercations.

Hold on. You mean that's telling me somebody actually tried you? They knew you were Mike Tyson and people would try you? No, I'm a troublemaker. Oh, so you're trying them? I'm a real troublemaker. Yes, I am, sir. Mike, you know you're in an advantageous situation.

You know. Why would you say, you know what, I'm just going to do, I'm going to be a model inmate. I'm going to do my time. I'm not going to bother anybody because I know nobody's going to bother me. You went looking for trouble? Well, listen, I didn't believe I need to be there and I'm not going to let any

guard disrespect me. So you didn't have a problem with the inmates. You had a problem with the guards. Yes. So, hold on. I just want to make sure. Was it the guards per se or the authoritative figure? Because that's what a guard is.

No matter what you think about it, he's in an authoritative position. If he's in an authoritative position, he would just say, you have to leave. You have to do that. He doesn't say, hey, get the hell out of here. Don't move your ass. He doesn't say that. Right. So you thought they were being disrespectful

towards you because of who you were? I didn't think of nothing. I thought of the words that came out of his mouth. You didn't think that he might have had a bad day? I didn't want to hear those words coming out of his mouth. You didn't think that he might have had a bad day? I didn't want to hear those words coming out of his mouth towards me.

So, Mike, you know people are allowed to have a bad day. Was this like a regular occurrence or this wasn't like an isolated or was it just one or two guards or was it like the general guard population? It was a couple of incidents but I rebounded

and got over those incidents. Right. And I became almost like a trustee. Okay, well, see? Mike, I think the biggest thing that a boxer can have is like intimidation.

You had that because you didn't come out there with no robe on. You cut the hotel towel, draped it over you, you were all black tight, black boots, and you had that, you were glistening. Listen, you know

what that is? Intimidation is probably the best, it's probably the best part to have in sports and everything. But sometimes, you can scare a guy into kicking your ass. So, is that, so let me ask you a question. Let's go to,

let's go to Japan. I think that was in what, 90, 91? When you were Buster Douglas. You know, Mike, you know,

on a given day, you could beat Buster Douglas if you fight 10 times, you beat him 10 times. 10 times. What happened that night? Um, he was the better fighter that night.

I can't take nothing away from him. I trained hard, really. I could have trained harder, but he really fought a hell of a fight. He did. He stuck to it. Even when you dropped him and he got up on the eight count,

I was like, well, Mike got him now. Mike put him down. Mike, he's in his groove. And he came back out with the jab. And check this out, right? By him beating me, he catapulted me to even mythological level. I became a bigger figure after he beat me. Right.

And then I went to prison. No, then I beat the number one contender. And then I went to prison. I beat him twice. Then I went to prison, came, then I beat the number one contender. And then I went to prison. I beat him twice. Then I went to prison, came out, and I won two belts. Right. Do you believe... Then I won...

Huh? Do you believe... Let me ask you this. Do you believe had the incident that sent you away for two and a half years, had that not happened, how great a fighter would Mike Tyson have been? If that didn't happen, tyson would have died so that was the best thing that ever happened to mike tyson wow you really believe that i know in my heart you were on that destructive of a path given who you were? Yes, brother. Yes, yes, yes.

That was the best thing that ever happened to me is I went to prison. Trust me, Mr. Sharp. I was just living a really disgusting life. Can I ask you, Mike, when you're alone in your cell, there's no one there but you and your innermost thoughts.

What's going through your mind? You know, when you think of people in general, you, me, we're mythological. I'm God. We're religious. Allahu Akbar. We're superstitious. But I'm the black cat and don't cross my fucking path. That's my life.

but I'm the black cat and don't cross my fucking path. That's my life. Did you ever ask yourself, I'm Mike Tyson. I got millions. I got 10 houses. I got this. How the bleep did I end up here? Well, that's not particularly the question.

The question is, what do I do now that I am here? Okay. So what was a typical day like for Mike Tyson when he was incarcerated? You wake up at what time did you have to get up? I got up early, but they allowed me to work. God, I could run whenever I wanted to run. I was able to eat any kind of food I wanted. I really had, listen,

that was the best three years of my life, really. I had a really awesome time in prison. You said you weren't allowed to use your body because they said that was a weapon. Had you been able to hit the heavy bag, hit the mitts, do things, jump rope, do things of that nature,

and you come out, would you have been a different fighter? No, the only way you become a different fighter is sparring. You have to practice what you're going to do in the ring. I wasn't able to do that. Well, I'm sure if they were to let you, I'm sure some of those guys, for what

you pay a sparring partner, would say, okay, Mike, you go ahead and put this on the books for your boy, your boy getting in and give you a couple of rounds. Give you a couple of rounds. It doesn't work like that when you're incarcerated, brother. It doesn't work like that.

We're on Mr. Gilmore Plantation. Mike, you love pigeons and looking at your documentary and reading a lot of what you say. Hey, you're a great interviewer, man. You're doing good. Thank you.

What is it about pigeons that made you gravitate towards, I mean, not eagles, I mean, not just a great majestic bird, a pigeon. People look at pigeons, they say they're flying rats. Exactly, but a pigeon

makes you feel like an eagle. It's just the magic they have. We're put on this earth to protect them and take care of them. Right. So I'm reading you still love pigeons. How many pigeons do you think you have currently? A couple of hundred. So what do you do with a pigeon?

Now, I've heard about these pigeon races and people raising pigeons, and they have some that cost thousands and thousands of dollars. So what is it that might- No. The highest paid pigeon is like $1.9, $2.1 million. What? A home- Look it up on your phone.

Hold on. Somebody paid $1.9,.92 million for a pigeon? Yes. The Chinese, some Chinese businessman. Was he dragging $1.8 million or $1.9 million behind it? No, not at all. A check. And listen, the bird, he can never let the bird out.

He don't need for breeding. If he let him out, he goes right back to his own. Hold on. So let me get, hold on, talk about it. So. In flight. Hold on. So let me get this right.

If you got a pigeon, you got pigeons, and I say, well, Mike, sell me one of them. You sell me a couple of them. I let the pigeons go. They're going to come back to you? Yes. They're only for breeding. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. How do they know to come back to you? It's what they do. That's why they call home in pigeons. They come home. So that's why you like them. You like them. Everybody had Prophet Muhammad, Jesus, everybody had pigeons.

Pigeons have been around since the beginning of time. They're done. Their crap is worth the lie in ancient times. Pigeon crap. Right. Some people like dogs, some people like cats, some people raise livestock.

It's pigeons. What is it about pigeons? Is it because, like, when you raise them, they'll never forsake you? They will always come back to its original owner, which is Mike? Well, some of them, yes, get lost. You can have a bird that you raise. He was born in your coop, and he'll slide away, and he gets lost. You would think, yes, he gets lost. You would think he gets lost.

What if he didn't get lost? What if something like, he might have got a hawk, might have got him some other bird or prey? Well, I didn't get him something. I didn't get him. He got lost. So, so you breed pigeons? Yes, I do.

So, I want to know some names. What's the special type of pigeon? If I were to get, if I were to say, Mike, look here, man, I'm thinking about opening me a pigeon operation also, bro. Give me some pointers. What type of pigeon do I need? How many females? How many males?

I would say first, what do you want the pigeons for? You want them to make money? You want them to entertainment? You want them for enjoyment? What do you want them for? You want to eat them? What do you want? I don't You want them to make money? You want them to entertainment? You want them for enjoyment? What do you want them for? You want to eat them? What do you want? I don't want to eat no pigeon, man.

All right, but what you want them for? I want it. It seems I want them for what you got them for, for calmness. They bring you serenity. They bring you peace. So I wanted the pigeon to do the same thing for you, that it do for me what it did for you. You want rollers then. You know what rollers do? They fly in the air and they do somersaults and it's very entertaining. Those are the type of pigeons you have?

Yes, I do. And they come in all colors? Any color you would like. So what's the difference between a pigeon that I see in the park and, say, a pigeon that Mike Tyson has, not the rollers? What's the difference? The difference is that every pigeon in the world comes from those pigeons in the street. They're called rock pigeons. And all the pigeons in the world come from them.

It was just a guy. It was a gentleman on Galapagos Island, I forgot his name, the dachshund, whatever his name was. He started taking every pigeon that had a white, a white feather, and he made it to them

until the bird turned all white. And so, so you have a couple of hundred pigeons. Do you take them out? So you take them out, throw them up in the air, they do somersaults? I mean, how long?

They just open the door and they fly out. Okay. So how long are they out? I leave them out for like, what, 30 minutes? Leave them out for 30 minutes and then they come right back. Well, I anticipate leaving them for 30 minutes. Sometimes they fly so long, it might be too loud, they stay in the air. Even at nighttime, I didn't

think they could see at night, you know, Mr. Sharp? Right. And I look at night, they're right in the air, I mean high in the air at nighttime. Can't even see them, they can't see me. And you just leave the coop open and they'll come back and they'll come back home? If I let them out at

12 o'clock or something, they'll keep flying till 6 in the morning. So, why do you let them out that close at dusk? Why would you let them out at, like, noon? The accident, I was just letting them out and I don't see as far

as I can see them around. I didn't think they were going to fly. I took me scared at nighttime. I always saw pigeons at night. I was wrong. Right. Yeah, because I don't see as far as I can see them around. I didn't think they were going to fly. I took to be scared at nighttime. I always saw pigeons at night. I was wrong. Right. Yeah, because I don't normally see pigeons at night. I was thinking they're a day animal because I normally see them walking in the park where I see them flying. But they fly at

nighttime too and they fly for hours. Let's just say a boxer comes to you and he says mike what's some of the advice that you'd give me as far as not just the ring but some of the things are like my circle what are some of the things that you would tell a young boxer that um in life whenever when life and whenever somebody wants to be the best in the world or something in life, there's always going to be some disappointment. And you have to take those disappointments and pretty much integrate it with your determination and never, never lose and continue to work on your discipline and believe that you're the best in the world or whatever you're doing. And there's never been anyone better.

I heard you. I used to tell people that discipline is doing your very best when no one else is watching. I heard you describe discipline as doing something you hate, but doing as if you love it. Yes. Exactly. Did you hate? I was taught. Go ahead. Excuse me? I was going to say, Did you hate... I was going... Go ahead.

Excuse me? I was going to say, did you hate boxing? No, I hated training. Oh, okay. I hated training. That training is a monster. That's really testing you. So that training is a monster.

But I did it anyway. So... Everybody always asks me... I trained as a monster. But I did it anyway. So, everybody always asks me, because I was an ex-professional athlete, about being with women the night of the day of a game. I guess when you go training, when you go to training camp,

there's no women allowed. Well, it starts out that way. Some guys do the whole training camp with their family. Right. When you went away, how did you do it?

Everything shut down. Everything? No anything. No food almost. No anything. No food almost. No anything. It's hard work and discipline. It's boring. How long was your training camp typically?

Six weeks. Six weeks. So, let me ask you a question. When you were in your prime, Yeah. Go ahead. What'd you say now, Mike? I had 15 fights in one year. Hold on. If you had 15 fights

in one year, hell, you stayed in camp. Yes. I was always training. No, not really training. I was always fighting. Right. I had fights for one week. Yeah, because I was going to say,

if you're fighting that many, you ain't got no training camp because basically you fight and then another week later, two weeks later, you're fighting again. Exactly. Mike, do you remember,

I think it was March or April of 1996, you fought Frank Bruno. I do remember that fight. What do you remember about that fight? I remember I wanted to win so bad because I wanted to... I just wanted to come out of prison and kind of take over the show again.

Right. I remember that. Actually, that was my first heavyweight fight. And I remember people talking about the buzz that you feel at a heavyweight fight. And they say not just any buzz because you do realize you're going to see Mike Tyson. Well, I had followed your whole career. I knew who you was. I knew what you accomplished.

And so I'm excited. I'm like, OK'm there's nothing like that mike do you do you feel that electricity when you walk into the ring can you hear the crowd starting to get into a pitch when you're in your dressing room listen you're you're um you're an athlete of a very high level when you're in that mode of relaxation, you can hear and see everybody in the arena. Yes. My friend, after a fight, I said,

yo, man, who's that girl in the red dress you was talking about? He said, Mike, get the fuck out. You did not see in the ring I was talking to that girl. I was telling him. It was crazy. You were very close to Tupac. And I think that summer, that was when Tupac ultimately lost his life.

I think you were fighting Bruce Seldon. Yes. Do you remember that fight? Yes, I remember that fight because I remember talking to Tupac, making sure that he would have the tape because I was coming out with his music. Yeah. I was calling him to make it on time because I thought he was going to be late. Where were you when you got the news

that Tupac had been shot and where were you when you got the news that he had ultimately lost his life? I was in my house. Because you were living in Vegas at the time, correct? Yes. So I was in my house. i just had a brand new baby girl okay and i and i just couldn't believe it because i told him i'm coming to see you after um i get dressed and then i had to go i went to the house to see my daughter and somebody told me he had got shot, but the next morning they had released that he had died.

Mike, I mean, you have one of the most recognizable faces. Everybody know who Mike Tyson is. You've been loved. I don't think when you were 14 years of age, you thought you would be as loved and revered as you are. Who are some of the people that you've met that you're like, damn, man, that's really cool. I've met such and such.

I've met this person. Yeah. When I was in reform school, I met Muhammad Ali and that changed everything. Wow. So did you ask him any questions? What advice did he give you?

I was far from, but once I saw it, I wanted to be like that. Right. Because you saw the way the people gathered around him. You saw the aura that he possessed. Yes. So when athletes and entertainers, they see you now, what do they say to you?

They tell me where they were at certain places when I was doing certain fights. Right. And they talk about their father, their mother, or they named me after you because I was born in one of your fights or something. Do you like meeting

Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson or LeBron James or this one? Do you get a, I mean, are you like, when you meet people, do you like, damn, that's pretty cool? Because you see the way they react towards you. You know, if anybody gets, it humbles you. It humbles you.

It's just, I understand why both athletes respect each other. Because you have to be around real people and know who you are before somebody tells you who you are. Right. Because the fathers, we got to take care of our kids and all that superstar, iconic shit got to go out the window. You know why, Mike? Because as an athlete at the highest level, they understand the sacrifice and the discipline that it takes. And that's what I tip. See people like, I was like, look, everybody doesn't want to be great or want to extend to that top, top level. And that's okay. Some people just want to get a paycheck, go home and live a nice, quiet, happy life. But if you want to ascend to heights, that's never been ascended. There's nothing you can do without sacrifice and discipline. And you're going to have to.

There's nothing you can do without sacrifice and discipline. And you're going to have to. Go ahead. Some people do it. They like to sacrifice, but they don't like what comes with it. They want to sacrifice. They want to go hard. They want to hang out with the boys, but they don't want to come with. They don't want what the sacrifice gives.

They don't want that to shine. That scares my kids. When people come up taking pictures, it scares the hell out of my children. My children say, see you later, Dad. Boom. Let me ask you a question. How many of your kids were around, were born when you were fighting?

Not to tell them, but I'm talking about when Mike Tyson was Mike Tyson. Iron Mike. When I was that guy, I wasn't a good father. Right. That guy wasn't a cool father. My kids, like a year or two, my kids just started getting tight with me again. But Mike, those are the sacrifices that you're talking about that you have to make.

You see, you said it yourself. You don't believe. I understand that. But it's a lot of sacrifice and getting it back together too. Right. It's a thing. Well, I commend you for being able to get it back together too. Right. It's the same. Well, I commend you. But you have to. Well, I commend you.

I commend you for being able to get it back together. Because a lot of times, you know, a lot of times when we sacrifice, I think what they see now, Mike and you, is that a lot of your sacrifice was for them.

You know what? Can I say something, Mr. Sharp? Yes. None of my kids gonna say, my grandkids gonna say, wow, wow, granddad really looked out for us. Granddad really looked out. Because you wanted for your kids and your grandkids more than what you had. You didn't want your kids and your grandkids to spend one hour in a day that you had as a kid.

But listen, they couldn't. They couldn't handle what I had. That's why they have the life that they have now. What what what I lived through would kill them. Yes. I tell my kids that all the time. You're not you're built to to go through what i had to go through to make sure that you didn't go through it listen i have a daughter that plays tennis at a high level but yes think about this when i when i lost the fight it was closer to going back to brownsville or going back to lockup when she wins a fight she goes back to a big mansion big long property and all that right the totally different vision Mike you've had you I mean you once knocked the guy in 30 seconds you had a start your career I think you had 17 straight knockouts

When you land a punch, do you know it's a knockout punch when you hit a guy with it? Not all the time no when you hit a guy with it? Not all the time, no. Sometimes you throw a punch you thought you missed, the perfect punch, the guy's out cold. He said, damn, I thought I missed that punch. So when you throw a punch,

are you trying to like, maybe if I hit him in the chest and he duck, it'll catch him in his chin? Or am I trying to punch his shoulder? What are you trying to, when you throw a punch, what are you trying to hit? What I'm trying to do is put the guy in position to be able to hit him where I want to. Right.

I want him against the ropes, standing still with his hands up like this. That's how I want him. So that's when you're going to come with the combo to the body with the uppercut. Because when he comes, he's like this, you club him to the body, he drops it down, now you come through the guard. Yes, exactly. Who are...

You are... And I don't... When I hit him with the uppercut, it's not hard. But you know why they go down? Because they don't see it. Right. It's the punches that you don't see

that gets you up out of there. Not that hard. The punches to the body is harder. It just comes up and you don't see it and that's what makes them go down. How do you get to the point where you're able to walk a guy into a punch? Because I was watching the Rumble in the Jungle documentary and I was watching how George Foreman was, like, cutting off the ring. And in the sparring, he was just trying to cut the ring off because he knew he had a feeling that Ali was going to get on his bicycle.

So I'm going to try to cut the ring off. How do you walk a guy into a punch? You're like, okay, this is what he wants to do. I'm going to walk him into this. Listen, right? It's almost impossible to walk Muhammad Ali into a punch. But, you know, it's all about setting up people in a position, almost like playing chess.

That is the right position to knock them out or to drop them or to hit them. But, you know, fighters got spirit. Sometimes some guys you got to beat them to death. They just won't quit. And some guys, you got to beat them to death. They just won't quit. George Foreman, Mike Tyson, of the heavyweights, who do you believe is the hardest puncher?

God damn. I don't know. George Foreman is pretty hard, man. You know what I mean? Just look at all these other guys. Look at the modern-day heavyweight knockout mean? Just look at all these other guys knock. Look at the modern day heavyweight knockouts and then look at George Foreman knockouts.

I mean, really, him and Sonny Liston really beat me. They could beat somebody to death. Right. Jack Johnson? Well, yeah,

he was great for his time, but I'm talking about fighting guys that really know how to fight. Right. George Foreman, man, God, Sonny Liston, they beat men to death. Who do George Foreman. Man, God. Sonny, listen,

that beat me to death. Who do you think is the most technical heavyweight? Muhammad. What made Muhammad Ali so special? The desire to win and ego. So he had to back up on it. After he done talked trash to everybody,

he had to back that up, huh? Well, he believed that he was the greatest fighter that God ever created, and he loved himself more than anybody ever loved himself in their life. Did you? And you can't beat that. How do you beat that?

Let me ask you a question. Did Mike Tyson love himself more than anybody? At one time, yeah. Periods I go up and down with my emotions about me. But it seems that you're in a, Mike, just talking to you right now, it seems like you're in a very, very good place. Yeah, I feel like I'm in a good place.

But anything could change within a drop of a knife. You know, everything's great. Mike, Mike, Mike. You have everything. You just talked about the mansion that you got with alarms and you got all the cars. I don't think you got any tigers anymore, but you still got your pigeons. Life is good. You got kids.

You got grandkids. You great. Life is more than that. Life is even more than that. What more is to be surrounded by family that loves you and have it all? What don't you have that you would? What doesn't Mike Tyson have that he wants? I haven't reached my highest potential yet.

What does Mike Tyson... Okay, can we project over the next two years? If I say at age of 57, Mike Tyson will be... I'll be close to reaching my highest potential. That's what I'm aiming for. Do you do social media? No, I don't know how to spell that well, so I wouldn't know how to do it.

You know you can get people to do that for you. It was just a waste of money to me. So you're not big into wasting money anymore? No. I'm into really wasting money. I just don't want to waste money writing for me. Mike.

I really throw it away. I don't play with no money. But I think the thing is, so let me ask you a question. When you were growing up and you had these dreams, you were fighting, you were laying in your bed and you're thinking, what were some of the things that Mike Tyson, what were some of the things that, man, if I get this, I would have made it?

If I get that, I would have made it. I'm going to have all this. Everything. But when I didn't have it, I wanted it real bad. Once I got it, I didn't want it anymore. I heard you say that just exactly what you just said. You said you wanted it all. And when you got it, you was more miserable than when you didn't have it.

Yeah. Having it all is a different perspective. Mike. Yeah, having it all is a different perspective. Mike, let me ask you, you like sports. Who's your favorite football team? Wow. When Lawrence Taylor played with the Giants. You a LT fan? Back in the day, I loved LT. Okay, what about basketball?

Michael Jordan. I think you like Jordan because his name Mike and your name Mike. We were born in the same hospital. The NFL has donated $1 million

to study the benefits of marijuana. Commissioner Goodell called Mike Tyson in and says, Mike, lay out your best what marijuana does, the benefits that it has as far as pain, because they're trying to get away from the injections. They're trying to get away from the painkillers, the pills. What would you tell Commissioner Goodell? That you would have to go, that is, from the history of marijuana, they're getting the

wrong information. They're misinformed about marijuana. It's not a drug. It's a medicine. And you could tell there's some guys that gave up their career over marijuana. So it has to make some sense to the people that this is not some toxic cotton or anything.

It only encourages the players to play better. Right. My perspective of it, I fight better when I'm on marijuana or some mushrooms. So what is Tyson 2.0? What is that going to entail?

Tyson 2.0? What is that going to entail? Tyson 2.0 is going to detail a cannabis company with a mushroom situation and the psychedelics. And we're going to really pretty much, we're in what, 18 states, around 400 stores. And our objective is to conquer the world with our products. So you feel you have the best product? The world told me I have the best product. The world told you that?

Yes, I won the contest for the world championships and stuff. Acting. How did you get into acting? I don't know i just i have friends that were um directors and they say mike sit in this movie hey mike go do this do that and i was never getting paid for that stuff so um i started acting and getting paid for it what's your favorite movie you've been in the hangover big time. Everybody...

That was... That was a great movie. Yeah, it put me back on my feet for a minute. Do you... Let me ask you a question. Do you ever sit back and watch some of your fights with your kids? Or do you have buddies over sometime and you reminisce and like, okay, let's watch this fight?

Sometimes I come in and my kids and their friends are watching some of my fights. They say, hey, we can't do that in here, okay? Chill out. We got to be on human mode here. No celebrity. Why you don't want the kids to watch it? Because sometimes that's the fight. I may have called my mother or something.

I was cursed at somebody. Right. Oh, God. I want to get you out of here on these last few questions, Mike. Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou. Do you think that, do you want to see that fight?

Yeah, I don't mind watching it. I'm talking about... Not MMA. Let's be specific. A boxing match. Would you like to see a boxing match with Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou? I'd like to see anybody fight.

Oh, you just... I'll see two... So, you just want to see a fight? Yeah. What do you think about Conor McGregor? Great showman. Do you think he should box?

Do you think he should leave MMA and come over and box? Whatever he's going to do, he's going to make a shit ton of money. He is. He is. Because he can sell a do, he's going to make a shit ton of money. He is. He is. Cause he can sell a fight.

He, he's, he's as good at selling a fight as anybody that we've had in a bit. He might, he might, he might rival Ali. I don't think he's as witty and as clever as Ali, but he can sell a fight,

Mike. He can sell a fight. People that, and they said, no way. He ain't doing it. I said, this guy, this guy, no way. Ain't no way near me. I said, this guy's a circus show, too. He's a traveling circus. Yes.

Yes, he is. Mike, I really appreciate you taking time out of your day and giving me a couple minutes, bro. My pleasure. Talk to you, brother. Man, I appreciate it. Best of luck. Whatever you do, keep conquering the world.

I'm glad of the man that I'm interviewing right now. I'm glad what you turned out to be, bro. I really appreciate you. Love you. Love you, brother. All the best. All my life, I've been grinding all my life. All my life, been grinding all my life. Sacrifice, hustle, pay the price. Want a slice, got to roll the dice.

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