Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson is one of the most popular boxers ever. The fighter’s life has been well documented and he has emerged clean since his controversies and legal troubles. Another aspect of his life that is well publicized is his love for wild animals. ‘Iron’ is well-known for having owned a pet tiger during the earlier days. This time, the retired fighter wants to domesticate a Hyena.
On his podcast ‘Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson,’ the former heavyweight champion had sports commentator Stephen A. Smith on as a guest. Tyson touched on having a pet hyena in his house. This shocked everybody in the room. Hyenas are known to be ruthless animals that are in no position to be domesticated. So, the former heavyweight champion’s claim to having one was quite a shocker for Smith and the viewers.
“Listen, I would love to have a hyena for a pet,” said Mike Tyson on the podcast. When he received pushback on it, he rebutted, “No, you can train them like dogs. I saw this guy in Africa that ride them on the back, playing. But they kept the muzzle on cause the teeth is so sharp they can hurt you by accident. They can be domesticated to a certain degree. That’s beauty man, you don’t understand.“
Mike Tyson’s hilarious confession to wanting to own a hyena as a pet shocked Stephen A. Smith. This was not an out-of-the-norm thing for the former heavyweight champion to say, as he has a history of owning wild animals.
When Mike Tyson shocked guests upon confessing he slept with tigers
On his podcast, Mike Tyson touched on owning pet tigers during his younger days. However, the former heavyweight champion revealed that the wild animals used to sleep alongside him. This revelation shocked the guests on the show. Famous rapper French Montana had his jaw dropped as he learned this fact.
“It sleeps with me,” said Mike Tyson. He then continued, “He’s in one bed and I’m in another bed. And, the other one’s at the foot. That’s nothing. Look, sometimes they’re fighting in the bed. When you wake up you see these 600 pound cats fighting in the bed. They fall on the floor. They’re fighting because one of them wants to get closer to me. He bit me once cause I gave him a tetanus shot. He didn’t want to but it was hurting,” ended Tyson.
This was quite a shocking revelation from Mike Tyson. Although the former heavyweight champion was known to be a risk taker, fans did not expect this drastic level of putting himself in harm’s way.