Mike Tyson has always been a rather controversial fellow.

The self-proclaimed 'Baddest Man on the Planet' has spent most of his life in the headlines and it was very rarely for good reasons.

He holds the record for being the youngest ever World heavyweight champion but it was his antics outside that ring that often got him into trouble.

However, it seems Tyson was bending the rules long before his incredible boxing talent made him a household name.

It is widely known that Tyson had a difficult childhood. He was brought up on the cold, hard streets of Brooklyn and spent most of his time getting into scuffles with his peers.

In fact, Tyson's upbringing was so troubled that, per a report in TalkSport, he had been arrested no less than 38 times before he even reached the age of 13.

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Incredible.

It seems that rough upbringing was the drive behind his no mercy approach inside the ring, though.

Speaking on an episode of his Hotboxin' podcast, Tyson claimed he had got into at least 150 street fights growing up.

“I had 60 [amateur fights]. I had around 150 street fights, that’s probably why I didn’t do to bad in boxing.

“That’s all we did in Brooklyn, is fight. Fight, fight, fight. It was, ‘You did this, you did that – I didn’t do that,’ fight, fight.”

It was those trying days on the streets that inbred a deep love for fighting in Tyson, a love that he would tap into time and time again over the course of his roller coaster career.

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“Fighting is spiritual, it’s all consciousness. When you’re really fighting, you don’t know what you’re doing. It’s just, pow, action, it’s happening," he continued.

“You anticipate throwing this one, but it’s flowing. When it’s flowing, things happen. You might get your ass knocked out.

“And sometimes it flows when your consciousness may be out of your body, you’re watching yourself fight.”

Tyson has certainly mellowed since his retirement. Now, he runs a successful podcast and even whipped himself back into shape for a massive exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr. last year.

It could've all been so different for that young lad who spent most of his time getting snapped up by the cops.

We, for one, are certainly glad he landed on his feet.