Mike Tyson has revealed how he wrote to high profile English gangster Reggie Kray during his three years in prison.

Tyson was jailed in 1992 for six years after being convicted of rape, but served only three-and-a-half-years of it before being released after an Indiana judge ended his probation.

The Kray twins Ronnie and Reggie, meanwhile, were known for building up a criminal empire in the 1950s and 1960s and were charged with the murders of Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie and gang rival George Cornell, being sentenced to life imprisonment in 1969 in the process.

Before that, however, the twins were keen boxers during their teen years and Reggie went as far as being invited to turn professional, but was subsequently turned down due to his criminal activities.

Indeed, this was why the former boxing heavyweight champion was able to strike up a rapport with the Kray Twins.

Speaking on his Hotboxin Podcast, Tyson said: “I use to write to Reggie Kray while I was in prison.

He wrote to me first. He just told me about his life and I told him what I was doing here and how I feel about being here and what I was going to do when I get out.

“When I came out of prison, I was fighting somebody, I think it was Julius Francis, and I went to visit his family and talked kindly about him. They almost sent me out of the country back to America.”

Following his victory over the British fighter at the MEN Arena in 2000, Tyson said: “I’d like to thank Reginald Kray.”

By the time this fight had taken place, Ronnie had been dead for almost five years. He died in Broadmoor Hospital after suffering a fatal heart attack, while his twin Reggie lived until 2000, before dying of stomach cancer.