- The former heavyweight world boxing champion Mike Tyson spoke with Joe Rogan for two hours on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast Friday.
- Mike Tyson asked Rogan what it means “when fighting gets you erect.”
- “I struggle with the possibility I could hurt somebody,” Tyson said. “That sometimes it’s orgasmic.”
- Tyson is preparing for an eight-round boxing exhibition against fellow all-time great fighter Roy Jones Jr. on November 28 in California.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Mike Tyson said he is troubled by feelings of arousal when hurting somebody in boxing.
“Sometimes, um … periodically I struggle with the possibility I could hurt somebody, that sometimes it’s orgasmic.” Tyson told Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast Friday.
“Saying orgasmic … that’s a strange thing to say,” Rogan told Tyson.
Tyson said: “What does it mean when fighting gets you erect, what does that mean?”
It means you're getting excited, Rogan said.
Tyson later added: "Yeah … That's how I get when I was a kid. I get the twinkle."
The 54-year-old rewrote boxing history when he became the youngest heavyweight in history to win the world championship aged 20, knocking out Trevor Berbick in two rounds in 1986.
He went on to fight Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Donovan Ruddock, Evander Holyfield, and Lennox Lewis before hanging his gloves up in 2005, having suffered back-to-back defeats against opponents he would have finished in his athletic prime.
Tyson will return to the ring to take part in an exhibition bout against a fellow all-time great Roy Jones Jr., 51, at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, on November 28.
And, 12 weeks away from the event, Tyson appears to be reflecting on emotions he may have experienced decades before, heading into the biggest fights of his life.
Tyson's wife, Lakiha Spicer, inspired him to get back into shape
Earlier in the podcast, Tyson said his wife, Lakiha Spicer, encouraged him to get back into shape by simply running on a treadmill for 15 minutes every day.
Tyson said he had been trying on clothes and "it was disastrous" because he was overweight. "She told me 15 minutes," he said. "I started to lose weight."
However, it was not long before his ego kicked in, 15 minutes turned into two hours every day, and a friend of his asked if he'd ever fight again, bringing up Bobb Sapp as a potential opponent for tens of millions of dollars.
"Then it came down to Roy, he signed the contract, I signed the contract … and it's disastrous. 'Did I really do this s---?'"
Though Tyson smoked marijuana while signing the contract to fight Jones Jr., he said he has pretty much stopped smoking while he prepares for the eight-round contest.
He said he'll be fighting fit by November 28 show, broadcasting on the Triller app at a pay-per-view price of $49.99.
Read more:
Jorge Masvidal has been challenged to an internet street-fight â€" the kind which made him a cult hero in the first place
