Mike Tyson has opened up about his career as a boxer and admitted he’d “never been able to handle being a fighter” before insisting that a regular person could handle his punch under the right circumstances.
Speaking to comedian Kenan Thompson, the Iron Mike recalled his years under the spotlight and suggested he had to learn how to deal with getting nervous all the time.
“I never thought I could handle being a fighter. It just was. I’ve never been able to handle it. You always get nervous,” Mike said in a YouTube chat with Thompson.
“I’m nervous now. That’s just part of life. I believe from my experience that the feeling is a natural defense mechanism. You rise to the occasion or you freeze. You learn to deal with that.”
The former boxing champ also gave a surprising answer when the comedian asked him if it would be possible for a ‘normal person’ to take his punch.
“What is a normal person? It has nothing to do with being an athletic person, it’s about your morale. Fighting has a lot to do with morality too,” Tyson responded.
“It’s not about taking it, it’s the willingness to die, that’s what life is. When you stand up to it you no longer have to fear it.”
Previously, Mike Tyson also spoke out about his win against Muhammad Ali in a virtual simulation and insisted he “wouldn’t win the real fight” against The Greatest.
With coronavirus lockdown in place and major sports events on halt, the World Boxing Super Series arranged a virtual fight between the iconic boxing legends to entertain the viewers behind the screens and crown the ultimate champion.
After a series of other virtual bouts, Tyson finally faced Ali and secured a victory after 12 rounds.
Despite his win in a simulation, however, Tyson remained humble and insisted that he “wouldn’t win the real fight” and that the results of the simulation were inaccurate.
“I know it’s a fantasy game. Most likely I would win the fantasy, I wouldn’t win the real fight. Ali’s the greatest there’s ever been,” the Iron Mike said in an interview with Yahoo.
Both Tyson and Ali have become world-renowned boxing figures following over two decades of hard work and dedication to the sport.
While The Greatest secured 56 wins out of 61 fights, the Iron Mike scored 50 wins out of 58 bouts. Tyson, however, had a higher number of wins by knockout which stand at 44 compared to Ali’s 37.
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