Mike Tyson has admitted he used to fear being assassinated as the boxing icon prepares to come out of retirement to face Jake Paul.
Anticipation for Friday’s crunch clash is rising, with millions of people from all over the world poised to tune in to watch the action.
These days, Tyson is in a good place.
That hasn’t always been the way, with the boxer marred by several controversies over the years. However, he’s previously admitted to finding peace as he nears his 60s – despite the pressure that returning to boxing brings.
Mike Tyson has admitted he used to fear being assassinated as the boxing icon prepares to come out of retirement to face Jake Paul
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When he was just 24, Tyson said: “I don’t expect to live until I’m 40.”
In a new interview with the Daily Mail, he’s now admitted he used to fear being assassinated – especially if he went back to Brownsville, New York, where he grew up.
“Boy was I wrong,” he told the newspaper. I figured I’d be shot or something in the street.
“Especially if I went back to Brownsville.”
Tyson has been arrested 38 times throughout his life. One such case was when he was a teenager, with the boxing star beating up an older boy who had torn the head off one of his beloved pigeons.
Aged only 16, the veteran then lost his mother, Lorna Mae Tyson, to cancer. She was just 55 at the time.
Tyson was recently spotted back in Brooklyn, with the boxing icon even talking with someone who claimed the veteran robbed him during his youth.
Going back to where he grew up, where many of his old friends are based, means a lot to him.
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“I go back to Brownsville much more often these days,” he continued.
“Times change on the streets and all my old friends are still there.”
Now aged 58, Tyson is preparing for his epic return to boxing.
It is four years since his exhibition draw with Roy Jones Jr and 19 since his last pro battle, which came against Kevin McBride in 2005.
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Mike Tyson doesn’t think Jake Paul looks confident as the duo prepare for their boxing match
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As the showdown creeps closer, Paul has been producing his usual fighting talk.
Yet Tyson has sensed a weakness in his upcoming opponent, with the heavyweight star taking his rival down a peg by saying he looks short on confidence.
When asked if Paul will be ‘laughing’, Tyson said: “[I] don’t think so. For sure he’ll be thinking I am a monster.
“He doesn’t look confident. Appearances can be misleading but what I do know is that I’m not worried about nothing.
Mike Tyson doesn’t appear fazed by the prospect of fighting Jake Paul despite the huge age gap between the pair
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“I’m not nervous. Never am. Always confident. Prepared to win. Can’t wait to go.”
He completed the interview by saying: “I feel young and strong again. Ready again.”