Mike Tyson has admitted that he wished he smoked cannabis his whole career and has also stated that he would punch fans in the face if they asked him for an autograph.
While Tyson had an incredibly successful career, that saw him become the first heavyweight boxer to unify the WBA, WBC and IBF belts, the world champion was no stranger to controversy.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, as per Daily Star, on the launch of his new Tyson 2.0 cannabis line, which will partner up with cannabis company Columbia Care, ‘Iron Mike’ opened up about how he used the drug to make him a better fighter.
Tyson said: “My life was just miserable, I was out of control. I was fighting with everybody. If someone asked me for an autograph, I'd punch them in the face.
“I was just a mess, and then after I retired, I started smoking.
“What a mistake that was — I should have smoked my whole career. I should have smoked when I was fighting because it put me in this different state of mind.
“I'm very relaxed and the more relaxed you are, the better fighter you are, at least in my case.”
Tyson isn’t the only combat sport athlete who is known to have used marijuana, with MMA fighters Nick and Nate Diaz both having landed themselves on the Rolling Stones’ 'The Biggest Stoners in Sport' list back in 2017.
During the interview, the heavyweight champion reflected on his victory over Andrew Golota in 2000, which was scratched from his fight record after the 55-year-old tested positive for marijuana.
But ‘Iron Mike’ did not regret his actions, saying: “I broke his cheekbone, his eye socket, his rib — I should have been doing this [smoking marijuana] from the beginning.
“And I said, 'Wow.' I got fined for that, of course, but it was worth every bit of it.
"I think of it as an enhancer. It makes me better, even in the ring. The punches don't hurt as much; it has a lot to do with my comeback, the psychedelics."
After a 15-year layoff from boxing, the ‘Baddest Man on the Planet’ stepped back into the ring last year to fight Roy Jones Jr and openly admitted he smoked cannabis in the run-up to that fight.
But it seems Tyson isn’t done fighting yet and is reportedly on the cusp of signing a deal to fight YouTuber Logan Paul in 2022.