Boxing legend Mike Tyson broke down in tears during a recent podcast discussing his personal transformation from world champion to middle-aged-man.
Tyson spoke with fellow legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard on his podcast “Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson” and teared up while talking about how he used to be a violent, aggressive killer inside the ring, to the mellow, 53-year-old man he’s now become.
“Napoleon, Alexander, I’ve read them all, I’ve studied them all. I know the art of fighting, I know the art of war. That’s all I’ve ever studied. That’s why I’m so feared, that’s why they feared me when I was in the ring. I was an annihilator, that’s all I was born for,” Tyson said.
“Now those days are gone. It’s empty, I’m nothing. I’m working on being the art of humbleness. That’s the reason I’m crying, cuz I’m not that person no more, and I miss him. Because sometimes I feel like a b*tch because I don’t let the person come out,” Tyson said.
“Because if he comes out then hell is coming with him. And it’s not funny at all. I sound cool like I’m a tough guy, it’s just that I hate that guy, I’m scared of him.”
It was amazing to hear Tyson speak with such emotion. One of the greatest boxers of all time, Tyson was feared by his opponents in the ring for years, but as he gets into his older years he has started to realise he is just not the same person anymore.
This middle-aged version of Tyson sounds like a much more introspective and mature man and getting to hear his candid thoughts on what it is like to lose his identity as a world boxing champion is emotional to listen to. – NBC
