Mike Tyson once knocked out a garbage man over a pigeon.
It may come as no real shock to learn that Tyson has had some troubling issues in his life stemming from early childhood; given the traumatic events in Tyson’s life and his reputation for being the ‘baddest man on the planet’, ‘Iron Mike’ is actually a very sensitive guy – albeit looks can be deceiving.
Tyson has had intrigue and genuine love for pigeons since he was a boy pertaining them to be ‘just like people’ and found solace in taking care of them.
‘Iron Mike’ actually claims to have thrown his first punch aged just 10 years old – it was over a pigeon.
Opening up to the World Boxing Council, Tyson revealed in an interview how at just 10 years old, a thug confronted him and killed his pigeon right before young Mike’s eyes, to which Tyson responded by unleashing his first punch out of anger.
"The guy ripped the head off my pigeon. This was the first thing I ever loved in my life, the pigeon," he explained.
"I don't know why, I feel ridiculous just trying to explain it," he added. "[Pigeons] are just so much like people."
Recalling his youth, Tyson revealed how he once beat up a garbage man over a pigeon.
A garbage collector put Tyson’s crate with his favourite pigeon, who had died shortly before, into the garbage compactor.
Once Tyson caught wind of what had happened, ‘Iron Mike’ rushed out and clocked the garbage man with a “Titanic right hand” which rendered the man unconscious.
Tyson recalled:
"One morning I woke up and found my favourite pigeon, Julius, had died I was devastated and was gonna use his crate as my stickball bat to honour him.
"I left the crate on my stoop and went in to get something and I returned to see the sanitation man put the crate into the crusher.
"I rushed him and caught him flush on the temple with a titanic right hand he was out cold, convulsing on the floor like an infantile retard."
Tyson definitely has a way with words but an even bigger way when it comes to knocking people out; if there’s one thing to be taken from this it’s not to mess with Mike Tyson’s pigeons.