Mike Tyson: 6 facts you might not know about the famous boxer (7 photos)

Michael Gerard Tyson, known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. From 1987 to 1990 he was the undisputed world heavyweight champion. Tyson was married three times and became the father of seven children. He also served three years in prison for rape.





At the age of 15, Tyson had more than 30 drives



In one podcast, Tyson stated that he was arrested 40 times before he was 12 years old while growing up in Brooklyn. His crimes included burglary and pickpocketing.

He loves pigeons



On the Animal Planet show, Tyson said: "The first thing I loved in my life was a pigeon. I don't know why... I feel funny trying to explain it." At the age of 11, Mike had his first fight with a bully who tore the head off one of his pigeons. At one time, the athlete had about 350 pigeons in the elite village of Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Mike Tyson becomes the youngest heavyweight champion



On November 22, 1986, Mike entered the ring against WBC world champion Trevor Berbick and won. Tyson set a world record by becoming the youngest heavyweight champion. He received his first belt at the age of 20 years and 4 months.

Bit an opponent



On November 9, 1996, a fight took place between Tyson and Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas, Nevada. The latter defeated his opponent by technical knockout in the eleventh round. In the summer of next year, a rematch took place. During the third round, Tyson bit Holyfield on the ear and literally tore out a piece. The referee deducted two points from Tyson, but the fight continued. However, Mike bit Evander a second time and was disqualified. In the documentary, the boxer claimed that he did this in retaliation for headbutting Holyfield.

Tyson recorded a song with Madonna



This may come as a surprise to many, but the world boxing champion is not averse to singing. In March 2015, he recorded the song Iconic with Madonna for her album Rebel Heart.

Tigers as pets



At the peak of his career, Tyson owned many luxury cars, and at the time he asked his dealer what else he could trade the car for, and he mentioned several animals. The boxer decided he wanted to get a Bengal tiger and ended up getting three. He got the animals when they were very young, and when they grew up, Mike placed two of them in a local nature reserve. He kept the predator named Kenya for 16 years. Together with Tyson, Kenya starred in the film "The Hangover." He was forced to give up the tigress when she attacked an intruder.