Mike Tyson says he no longer fears death in rare interview: 'Living takes a lot of courage'

The legendary boxer, Mike Tyson, has said that he is looking forward to death as “living takes a lot of courage”. Tyson was giving an interview to The Sportsman, where he opened up about the highs and lows he experienced in his 53 years spent on earth. This time saw him holding the record as the youngest boxer to win a heavyweight title at 20 years of age before he faced a conviction for rape in the 1990s.

“From my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die,” Tyson told the outlet. He further added that he does not fear death as “living might be more complicated than dying to me, because living takes a lot of courage”.

He further added saying, “Without courage, you can't handle living. Living is a journey; living is a struggle. People have everything and they still can't do it, they struggle. We take ourselves too seriously; we think we're somebody. Who the f***, we're nothing! We come from s***. We think we're special... fame is s***. You find out you're not [special]."

During the interview, the 53-year-old also spoke about the sentencing he faced following a rape allegation in the early '90s. He spent three years in prison for the rape conviction before being released on parole that he always contested. “You're capable of going to jail, you're capable of dying, you're capable of being mistreated. I don't really expect bad things to happen to me, but when they do happen to me, I understand it and I'm able to handle it. I've handled bad stuff before, that's been my life. I don't trip over bad things, I know s*** happens.

“When bad things happen, I will be still striving to do something. I won't be discouraged,” said the father-of-eight.

At the end of the interview, Tyson also talked about boxing, which gave him the undisputed world heavyweight champion title. He said, “Boxing is such an enigma, as a sport. This is what really matters. In two hundred years from now, there will probably only be five fighters that people will remember. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about having money, about becoming rich. That they won’t stop mentioning your name until the planet’s disintegrated, that’s what this is really about.”