- Mike Tyson cried on a recent podcast when one of his boxing heroes Sugar Ray Leonard was talking.
- Leonard remarked on being a survivor of child sex abuse and addictions to cocaine and alcohol. Tyson told him he was beautiful.
- Tyson then talked about the contrast between being a feared athlete, which he misses, and the man he is today in retirement. He said he sometimes feels “empty.”
- I was an annihilator. It was what I was born for. Now those days are gone and it’s just empty,” he said.
- Watch part of the interview below.
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Mike Tyson cried during a podcast in which one of his boxing heroes Sugar Ray Leonard made a guest appearance.
One of the greatest boxers of all time, Leonard, a 1976 Olympic gold medalist and former five-weight world champion as a pro, talked about being a survivor of child sex abuse and about his addictions to cocaine and alcohol on a recent episode of the popular “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson” podcast on YouTube.
When the camera cut to Tyson, he was sweating, had a tear rolling down his cheek, and he was clutching an unlit marijuana joint.
Tyson then told Leonard about his fights which he watched when he was a child “locked up in [a] juvenile” detention center at 12 and 13 years old.
Leonard told Tyson that he loves him and supports him. This only appeared to upset Tyson more.
"You inspired me so f------ much," he said. "I saw you fight [Roberto] Duran and it changed my life. This is what I'm going to be.
"This is because of you. I love you. You're so beautiful. You don't even understand.
"When I saw you lose to [Hector] Camacho [in 1997] it didn't even affect me because that wasn't you. That wasn't you. I didn't even cry. That ain't the Sugar Daddy."
Leonard laughed and said, "Yes, I am!"
Tyson then said he misses the days when he was a feared fighter
"I know the art of fighting, it's all I ever studied," Tyson said, before commenting on the conflicting emotions he feels between his former self as a competitor in the ring, and a man who is still coming to terms with who he is in retirement.
"It's why I was so feared in the ring. I was an annihilator. It was what I was born for. Now those days are gone and it's just empty."
Through a quivering lip, he said: "I'm nothing. I'm working on the art of humbleness. That's why I'm crying because I'm not that person no more, and I miss him. Because sometimes I feel like a b----.
"I don't want that person to come out because if he does, hell is coming with him. It's not funny. I don't want it to sound cool like, 'I'm a tough guy,' because it's just bad. I hate that guy and I'm scared of him."
Leonard then proceeded to talk about the journey of life, and having to go through the things you go through, to be who you are and to be able to better yourself as a husband, a father, and a friend.
Watch Tyson's emotional interview right here:
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