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Years After Losing His Passion for Boxing, Mike Tyson Remains Brutally Honest When Asked Whether He Can Still Fight

Published Jul 21, 2023 | 6:30 AM EDT

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Through the mean streets of Catskill, the teenager Mike Tyson found his passion in the sport of boxing. Since then, he has never looked back, as he worked tremendously hard under the tutelage of Cus D’Amato. Tyson adapted the renowned Peekaboo style of D’Amato and knocked out most of his opponents during the initial stages of his career. He also went on to become the Youngest Heavyweight Champion. But then he hit rock bottom, as he was jailed in 1992 and allegedly charged with sexual assault. In his interview with Shannon Sharpe, he revealed how this whole scenario changed him.

He said, “I looked at boxing totally as a business. Let’s get money, let’s get money, and let’s try to change our life, get married, and all that stuff. I didn’t have the love for it no more. I lost the love for it.” But now it seems the love has returned after many years. In fact, just recently, the boxer, now 57, even talked about his chances of fighting again!

Mike Tyson is open to fighting once again

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In one of the recent episodes of Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson with J Balvin, Mike Tyson talked about how he doesn’t feel the same as he did years ago. So, the famous singer asked ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ whether he’s still open to boxing again at such an old age. At first, Tyson wasn’t sure, so he asked a question back to Balvin as well.

But eventually, ‘Iron’ Mike stated, “Hell I can always fight, I don’t know how good Imma do.” Recently, it has also been revealed that Tyson was open to fighting against Tyson Fury in an exhibition fight. The conversation then diverted to how getting punched by Tyson is like a privilege. He compared it to being dead in a Ferrari and thought that it’d be really cool to get hit by Tyson’s power. The 57-year-old on the other end was silent for most of the time as he kept on listening to the funny banter.

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Before this episode, in another previous episode, Tyson tackled a similar issue where he talked about the lack of passion for the Sport that he’s devoted his entire life to. So, let’s see when, where, and what Tyson said about this particular topic.

“You don’t lose the desire to spend that money”: Tyson gives a harsh reality check

No matter how much you love a profession, there will come a time when you’ll have to force yourself to go in the direction of progress. Recently, Criss Angel talked about this thought with Mike Tyson on his podcast and said that sometimes he felt drained out. He felt like he wasn’t as passionate about his work as he used to be during his younger years.

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So, Angel went ahead to ask Tyson if he feels the same passion for the sport as he did years ago. Tyson replied, “No way.” The boxer further continued, “You lose the desire to train, but you don’t lose the desire to spend that money. If you didn’t properly use your money, you have to continue fighting.” He also opened up about how, during his younger days, if you were not good at anything, you’d either become a boxer or a criminal; there was nothing in between. But,of course, things have changed since then!

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A lot of straight-A students hold the capacity to become World champions, and this makes Tyson quite happy. So, Tyson may have lost the passion, but he still trains every day in the boxing gym. This showcases his love for the sport; no matter what he says, he will always be a boxer at heart. What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments section.

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Written by:

Chirag Radhyan

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Chirag Radhyan is a Boxing Writer at EssentiallySports. He has authored over 300 articles and loves to talk about the animosity between athletes, leading up to a fight. His coverage of the off-court drama between Jake Paul and Tommy Fury received widespread appreciation from readers.
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Edited by:

Sheldon Pereira