“They Got Older, Died”: Mike Tyson Gets Emotional as He Reminisces About His Late Friends From New York

People often forget! Beneath Mike Tyson’s tough and manly exterior beats the heart of a man who has lived through countless ups and downs in life. Over the span of his boxing career, Mike has been a name that is feared and respected. But in the recent episode of his podcast, Mike comes on the verge of tearing up while talking about his late friends in New York. What led up to this topic?

In the latest episode of Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson, Mike welcomed a Neuroscience Professor and Researcher, Andrew Huberman. Besides running his own podcast, Huberman works at the prestigious Stanford University School of Medicine. During his appearance in Mike’s podcast, the pair started discussing how Mike feels about being near a boxing ring. This eventually led to the pair discussing Mike’s time in New York, which left Mike on the verge of tears.

An emotional Mike Tyson answers Huberman’s dire question

Halfway through the podcast, Huberman draws Mike’s attention to a question he’s been meaning to ask Mike. With curious intentions, Huberman explains to Mike about conditioned place preference/condition place avoidance. “It means when we go to a particular place, a whole set of emotions come back around that,” Huberman explained. Following his explanation, Huberman asks, “If you get near a boxing ring, do you feel different, even if it’s not your night to fight?”

Mike quickly answers, “Oh, I feel sick. I don’t want to be near a ring.” Further expanding on his answers, Mike explains, “I get the highs when I go to the gym, and I’m around boxing. Eh.” Huberman further probed, “What about when you go back to New York City?” That’s when Mike almost got teary-eyed, answering the question. Mike explained he is from New York City, but “I don’t have many friends there anymore. They got older, died, and they moved away.”

Huberman then asked Mike about his time at Catskill, “If you think back to like the Catskill, do you have good memories?” Mike quickly explained his time training in Catskill was his favorite memory. “Yeah, the greatest. They are my favorite memories,” Mike told Huberman. Having said that, how did Mike start his boxing career in Catskill?

A legendary beginning to a legendary career

Mike’s turbulent life had more ups and downs than a roller coaster. From dominating the Heavyweight division to going bankrupt to going to jail and more, justifying his story requires capturing his time in Catskill. Bobby Stewart was the man who first came across a young Tyson in Tryon School for Boys. He later introduced Tyson to Cus D’Amato, someone Mike has called a mentor and a father figure.

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D’Amato was known for helping young men, and he wanted to see what Mike could do. So, he asked Stewart to spar with the young Mike, a moment written in the history of boxing and D’Amato’s gym. Right after the sparring match, D’Amato declared Mike would become the youngest Heavyweight champion. D’Amato’s prediction came to fruition in the years to come when Mike dominated the weight division.

Beyond the ferocious punches, beyond all the controversies, and the fame, Tyson carries the memories of all the friendships made in the mean streets of New York. What do you think about Mike’s journey from D’Amato’s gym to the boxing ring?

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