'I never did it, I wish I did': Mike Tyson once revealed his 'biggest regret' about pal Tupac Shakur's death
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Mike Tyson and Tupac Shakur are two behemoths from two completely different sides of the entertainment spectrum. While Tyson is a boxing legend, Tupac found enormous fame in his musical ventures that talked about social injustice and activism. He has also acted in several movies including ‘Gridlock’, ‘Juice’, etc. The rapper's life was unfortunately cut short when he was fatally shot in a drive-in shootout case in Las Vegas in 1996. As it happened, the rapper was in Vegas to attend a match with Mike Tyson, who was the late musician’s good friend. While Tupac is now going to get inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Wednesday, June 7, his friend Tyson has a particular “regret."
The duo first met in a high-profile club, but their friendship didn’t start immediately. The friendship between the musician and the boxer started when Tyson went to prison in 1992. Tyson said to Power 106, “I went to prison, and he wrote me a letter,” before elaborating, “Then he came and saw me. Then he explained to me who he was, I said, ‘I remember you.’….And that’s how we became friends. He kept coming, we talked on the phone, and we really cultivated our relationship.”
‘That's my biggest regret’
In an interview, while talking about the ESPN documentary, 'One Night in Vegas: Tyson & Tupac,' the boxer bared his heart about his friendship with the rapper. Tyson, who by his own admission was a closet smoker, did not want to reveal to the world that he was on marijuana.
Tupac, a rebel, wanted Tyson to join him in one of his smoking sessions. But as the fighter declined the invitation, it remained his biggest regret. Tyson revealed, "He always wanted me to smoke weed (marijuana) with him, and I never did it, and I wish I did," before adding mournfully, "That's my biggest regret," as per CBS News.
"He didn't last long, but the time he did last, every minute, every tenth of a moment was explosive," Tyson reminisced in the interview.
Their friendship started when Tyson was jailed for an accusation of alleged rape in 1992, as he said, "Every day, he would call me or get a chance to call me or send a message," before adding, "He would get word to me in prison."
When Tyson was released in 1995, Tupac was behind bars for accusations of sexual abuse. When he came out that year by a bind, the friendship deepened. The duo also had common ground as both of them found it difficult to trust people in their inner circles, as he said, "Our problem was we always had to worry about someone betraying us, our closest friends."
Tyson and Tupac’s friendship was constructive in every sense of the world. Tupac, who was known for speaking his mind, once criticized Tyson for choosing a rap from 'Redman' as his introductory music in a fight. Tyson recalled, "He said, 'Don't you ever play those songs again, they don't give a f**k about you,"' before adding, "When he said that, it pierced my soul. ... I felt like I did something wrong." In fact, Tupac was present there in Vegas on a fateful day to attend the fight because he exclusively composed an intro song for Tyson’s match that day.
‘He was probably a misguided warrior’
Tyson has always thought highly of his friend, as he said of Tupac, "He was probably a misguided warrior. He had a heart as big as this planet," before adding, "He had so much love and compassion, and you couldn't even see it under his rage."
These qualities of Tupac made him immortal as evidenced by Tyson’s interview, "He's going to last until the time this Earth comes to an end. . . I'm glad to be a part of his life and to have known him."
‘I feel a little guilty about him coming to the fight’
Tyson once revealed in an interview with DJ Vlad that he felt responsible for Tupac’s death because of his “pressurizing him” into attending the match after which Tupac was killed. Tyson said, “I feel a little guilty about him coming to the fight and me pressuring him … I was supposed to go out with him that night. I promised to go to the 662 with him that night, but I just had a little baby and her mother was provoking me to stay home, so I stayed home.”
He further added in the interview that he knows his element, but just because Tupac was attached to it, it felt different, “I know who I am, I know what my element’s about,” he continued. “This is just what happens in my world. That was part of my world. Just because it was 2Pac and I was attached to it, it was different.”