Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson has turned his life around in the last year, devoting himself to his family and a vegan lifestyle that is keeping him out of trouble and getting him back into shape. Tyson joined the Gridlock show on ESPN Radio Las Vegas—fresh off a trip to the dentist no less—and talked about his wife, his kicked drug habit, and the trouble with weighing 350 pounds.
On his former lifestyle and women:
"It was everything goes. Just being out there, being Mike, not realizing who I am. The next thing I know I got people saying, ‘Yo man when are you going to pay for these girls?' I said, ‘Well you know. What's the problem? I ain't got the money. I can't pay you.' And he said, ‘Well I got to pay somebody.' And I said, ‘Tell the guy you got to pay to come talk to me.' Listen, I'm Mike Tyson, international superstar, and I'm robbing a drug dealer. What happened? What happened to my life? I'm an international star and now I'm shaking down a drug dealer. I've really came a long way, huh? I've really came a long way… My personal life is so isolated right now. I don't go anywhere unless I'm invited. If I don't have a reason being there, I'm not going to go. I enjoy being with my children and my wife now. That's the only the that keeps me grounded'
On the impact his wife and family has had on put him on the straight road:
"I'll say everything to do. I didn't now where the straight road left. A straight road reminded me of a line of cocaine. That's the only thing that I knew was straight. But the fact was that, she said, ‘I want a commitment.' I thought that's what was going to happen for the rest of my life. I'm just going to bone these chicks and drop babies and take care of these kids and let these girls do what they do – sue me, whatever they do. I'm familiar with that. She said, ‘I want a commitment.' I was like, ‘A commitment? What do you mean?' And she said, ‘I want to do this. I want to establish ourselves as husband and wife.' I said, ‘We'll do that one day. One day we'll do that.' Then one day, I said, ‘Let's just do it. Don't wait to next week. Let's do it right now.' And I took a responsibility. I'm an extremist which is bad and good. Once I partake in something, I'm going all the way. I'm not going to cheat on you no more. I'm not going to drugs no more that could cause us to break-up… When I am dedicated to something, it gets too overbearing. When I'm dedicated to destroying my life, no one can stop me. When I'm dedicated to doing the right thing, no one can stop me. That's the sickness that I have."
On being in The Hangover:
"I was doing that to supply my drug habit. I'm sorry I'm coming at you guys like this… I said, ‘Wow, This is going to be really good. We're going to sell this stuff on 42nd street on bootleg and make a lot of money.' This is my best thinking on drugs… It wasn't that way. It was an international success.
And on the worst part about being 350 pounds:
"It was hard to wipe my butt… I was sweating like some kind of guy from a moon project or something. It was crazy… All the clothes you see me with now are clothes that I had 15, 20 years ago. (Host: Did you have the back fat and everything?) Oh man the back fat. The back fat is when it's so bad, your ass looks like a board. It's like boom. The back and ass is one. It's not like the back goes down and the butt protrudes. No. It's just straight down. And then girls were telling me I looked great. It has to be a money deal. It had to be."
This post, written by Paul Bessire, appears courtesy of Sports Radio Interviews. For the complete highlights of the interview, as well as audio, click here.
More From Sports Radio Interviews
Do Not Get Your Hopes Up, Bills Fans!
Jay Cutler Is Excited About Working With Mike Martz
Brian Cashman Deals On The Trade Deadline