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One month on from crying on a podcast because he said he feels empty, Mike Tyson has opened up about life, death, and never feeling scared despite competing in a sport which can be brutal and unforgiving.
Tyson told The Sportsman: "When we get to a certain age, we're not scared of dying no more."
"From my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die," he said.
Asked if he looks forward to death, Tyson replied: "Yeah."
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Mike Tyson said that living is a struggle and the more he knows about not existing, the more willing he is to die.
Speaking to The Sportsman this week, the retired heavyweight boxer, who cried on a recent podcast because he said he feels empty, opened up about life, death, and never feeling scared despite competing in a sport which can be unforgiving.
"The more we learn about ourselves, the more we learn about life," the 53-year-old said.
"Life is pretty interesting. We're born not knowing, we die not knowing where we came from. But our life prepares us for our death. We still don't know s--- about it, but when we get to a certain age, we're not scared of dying no more, like it was when we were young."
Tyson is one of the most iconic athletes in boxing history having fought in some of the sport's finest encounters. He won a first world heavyweight championship at just 20-years-old in 1986, under two years after turning pro.
After dominating the division for several years, Tyson was convicted of **** in 1992, and sentenced to six years in prison. He served three years of that sentence before his release. He still contests the charge, The Sportsman reported.
Tyson returned to big-time boxing but never appeared to be the same, losing championship fights to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
On training and competing in a sport which can be brutal and unforgiving, Tyson said: "I knew there was a possibility that I could die during training, during a fight. I knew that.
"But I wasn't scared, because I thought if anybody was going to die, I would do the killing. That self-confidence was a survival mechanism. But now, from my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die."
It's not long in life before you realize you're not special, Tyson said
When asked if he looks forward to death, Tyson said: "Yeah. I don't fear it. Living might be more complicated than dying to me. The belief of it. I don't know if it's true. Because living takes a lot of courage. Without the courage, you can't handle living.
"Living is a journey; living is a struggle. People have everything and they still can't do it, they struggle. We take ourselves too seriously. We think we're somebody. Who the f---? We're nothing! We come from s---, we think we're special! Fame is s---."
Tyson is estimated to have made $400 million from his boxing career, according to Forbes, but filed for bankruptcy in 2003.
He said it is not long in life before one realizes they are not special. "You find out you're not. You're capable of going to jail, you're capable of dying, you're capable of being mistreated. I don't really expect bad things to happen to me, but when they do happen to me, I understand it and am able to handle it.
"I've handled bad stuff before, that's been my life. So I don't trip over bad things. I know s--- happens. When bad things happen, I will be still striving to do something. I won't be discouraged."
Tyson's comments follow a conversation he had with one of his boxing heroes Sugar Ray Leonard, on his popular "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" podcast on YouTube, in which he said he sometimes misses being "an annihilator" in the ring.
"Now those days are gone and it's just empty," he said.
One month on from crying on a podcast because he said he feels empty, Mike Tyson has opened up about life, death, and never feeling scared despite competing in a sport which can be brutal and unforgiving.
Tyson told The Sportsman: "When we get to a certain age, we're not scared of dying no more."
"From my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die," he said.
Asked if he looks forward to death, Tyson replied: "Yeah."
Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Mike Tyson said that living is a struggle and the more he knows about not existing, the more willing he is to die.
Speaking to The Sportsman this week, the retired heavyweight boxer, who cried on a recent podcast because he said he feels empty, opened up about life, death, and never feeling scared despite competing in a sport which can be unforgiving.
"The more we learn about ourselves, the more we learn about life," the 53-year-old said.
"Life is pretty interesting. We're born not knowing, we die not knowing where we came from. But our life prepares us for our death. We still don't know s--- about it, but when we get to a certain age, we're not scared of dying no more, like it was when we were young."
Tyson is one of the most iconic athletes in boxing history having fought in some of the sport's finest encounters. He won a first world heavyweight championship at just 20-years-old in 1986, under two years after turning pro.
After dominating the division for several years, Tyson was convicted of **** in 1992, and sentenced to six years in prison. He served three years of that sentence before his release. He still contests the charge, The Sportsman reported.
Tyson returned to big-time boxing but never appeared to be the same, losing championship fights to Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis.
On training and competing in a sport which can be brutal and unforgiving, Tyson said: "I knew there was a possibility that I could die during training, during a fight. I knew that.
"But I wasn't scared, because I thought if anybody was going to die, I would do the killing. That self-confidence was a survival mechanism. But now, from my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die."
It's not long in life before you realize you're not special, Tyson said
When asked if he looks forward to death, Tyson said: "Yeah. I don't fear it. Living might be more complicated than dying to me. The belief of it. I don't know if it's true. Because living takes a lot of courage. Without the courage, you can't handle living.
"Living is a journey; living is a struggle. People have everything and they still can't do it, they struggle. We take ourselves too seriously. We think we're somebody. Who the f---? We're nothing! We come from s---, we think we're special! Fame is s---."
Tyson is estimated to have made $400 million from his boxing career, according to Forbes, but filed for bankruptcy in 2003.
He said it is not long in life before one realizes they are not special. "You find out you're not. You're capable of going to jail, you're capable of dying, you're capable of being mistreated. I don't really expect bad things to happen to me, but when they do happen to me, I understand it and am able to handle it.
"I've handled bad stuff before, that's been my life. So I don't trip over bad things. I know s--- happens. When bad things happen, I will be still striving to do something. I won't be discouraged."
Tyson's comments follow a conversation he had with one of his boxing heroes Sugar Ray Leonard, on his popular "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" podcast on YouTube, in which he said he sometimes misses being "an annihilator" in the ring.
"Now those days are gone and it's just empty," he said.
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