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Tyson says ‘kid’ is under control as he prepares for Roy Jones Jr bout
Nov 25, 2020
Boxing great Mike Tyson says he has learned to protect that “kid always in me” as he prepares to return to the ring for an exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr on Saturday.
The 54-year-old former world heavyweight champion is due to fight for the first time in 15 years when he meets the four-division world champion, 51, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“Iron Mike”, speaking to boxing promoter Eddie Hearn on his BBC podcast “No Passion, No Point”, said he did not want to think about where he would be without the sport.
The American, jailed in 1992 for rape, also paid tribute to his late trainer Cus D’Amato for giving him moral guidance.
“That kid is always in me,” he said. “Now I know how to treat him, how to protect him. I wasn’t protecting him when I was going to jail and all this crazy stuff.
“The best thing that can happen to any young man or woman is to have a diligent role model that cares about them.
“The feelings have to be mutual. Your objective has to be to make them happy — to be the man they need you to be.
“Just think where I would be without boxing. I don’t even want to think about where I would be without this beautiful sport.”
Tyson terrorised the heavyweight division from 1986 to 1990 but he says becoming the youngest-ever world champion aged 20 came too early for him.
Apart from his prison term he battled drugs and lost the fortune he earned in the ring.
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