“Iron Mike” Tyson is back in the spotlight due to his fight with Roy Jones Jr. We thought now would be a great time to highlight some of his funniest and most epic moments throughout the years.
Check out some of Mike Tyson’s most amusing anecdotes over his historic carrer.
10. Tyson admits how strange he is
Tyson has been no stranger to admitting how off-kilter he really is through all of the years.
He once said, “I’m gonna make sure you talk about me, and your grandkids and kids after that gonna know about me…your great-grandkids will say “wow, wasn’t that a bizarre individual?”
9. Tyson on reading
Contrary to belief, Iron Mike has actually read a few books in his time.
He once said, “It’s good to know how to read, but it’s dangerous to know how to read and not how to interpret what you’re reading.”
He even mentioned some well-known authors in another rant, “These books ain’t window dressing. I think Machiavelli’s the most sophisticated writer outside of Shakespeare.
Way ahead of his time. Such a manipulative person. Everything he accomplished he did by kissin’ ass.”
8. Tyson on being a troublemaker
Mike Tyson spent a total of six years of jail after he was convicted of rape in 1992.
He half-jokingly poked fun at himself in this quote, “One of my friends once saw another guy’s (criminal) record and said, ‘Look, this guy is a born troublemaker, just a loser.’ I had to tell him, ‘No, that’s my record—and it doesn’t include my juvenile history.”
7. Tyson on women
Tyson has been married three times throughout the years, but that didn’t stop him from talking candidly about his love of women in general.
“It’s no doubt I am going to win this fight and I feel confident about winning this fight. I normally don’t do interviews with women unless I fornicate with them. So you shouldn’t talk anymore… Unless you want to, you know,” he said after a female reporter interviewed him.
6. Tyson heated up about Lennox Lewis
Perhaps unlike any other boxer, Tyson is known for his strange array of trash talking.
He went on a long rant against his eventual opponent, Lennox Lewis in 2000. He exclaimed, “I was gonna rip his heart out. I’m the best ever. I’m the most brutal and vicious, the most ruthless champion there has ever been. No one can stop me. Lennox is a conqueror? No! He’s no Alexander! I’m Alexander! I’m the best ever. I’m Sonny Liston. I’m Jack Dempsey. There’s never been anyone like me. I’m from their cloth. There is no one who can match me. My style is impetuous, my defense is impregnable, and I’m the ferocious. I want his heart! I want to eat his children! Praise be to Allah!”
5. Tyson loves his pigeons
Tyson’s love for pigeons has come out through the years, especially in his animated Adult Swim show Mike Tyson Mysteries where he actually co-stars with an alcoholic talking pigeon.
He once said, “One morning I woke up and found my favorite pigeon, Julius, had died. I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honor him. I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher. I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand – he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard.”
4. Tyson is hilarious even after he loses
After Tyson lost to Lennox Lewis, he responded to questions about his next move.
He simply stated, “I don’t know, man, I guess I’m gonna fade into Bolivian.”
The slip of the tongue made the loss a bit less traumatizing and still left us all in awe of Iron Mike’s ways.
3. Tyson cameos in ‘The Hangover’ series
Tyson had few lines but played a memorable bit role in The Hangover. He would be the one to best be able to say, “Like you said – we all do dumb shit when we’re fucked up.”
He also showed up at the end of the second Hangover movie to do his own strange rendition of “One Night in Bangkok”.
2. Tyson had strategy but he knew the truth
No matter how many times Tyson was asked about the strategies he used in the ring from analysts, the more Tyson would emphasize the simple raw tenacity of the sport.
He put it simply, “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.”
1. The sheer ferocity of Tyson cannot be understated
Iron Mike sought to combine hilarity, intimidation, and power as a way of gaining an edge over his opponents.
This quote perhaps best encapsulates it all prior to a fight, “My main objective in the fight is to be a professional but to kill him.”
