I’m scared every time I go into the ring, but it’s how you handle it. What you have to do is plant your feet, bite down on your mouthpiece and say, ‘Let’s go.’
It doesn’t faze me what anyone says about me. It doesn’t matter what anyone says about me. I’m a totally different entity to what other people think. Michael and Tyson are two different people. I’m Tyson here.
My nature is to get instant gratification. On stage, I can feel everybody’s anticipation. I know what they want, I know what I’m going to give them, I know when I’m going to give it to them, I know when they want it.
I was blessed with speed and a good punch. Everybody thinks I’m the hardest puncher ever. But I just think I was really fast, and my punches got to the target faster. That’s what made my knockouts always seem spectacular.
Treat the world the way you want to be treated.
If you’re a professional, you’ll make it work. you can be like, ‘I’m not going to do that, I’m going to do it where I’m satisfied.’ But I’m very comfortable being uncomfortable so I just go for it.
Not to be egotistical, but I don’t think there is a man on this planet who can beat me.
Everybody wants to be somebody. Everybody wants to be noticed. Everybody wants to be somebody important. Importance is just treating people good. That’s important.
I’m doing what great artists before me did, like Judy Garland, Sammy Davis, Eddie Cantor. I’m doing what they were doing, not at their level yet, but one day I will be. I’m just happy to be in their company.
Fighting is endurance, knocking a guy out in 10 seconds is not fighting, its beating him to the punch. But when you put in that time, that is fighting because you are thinking.
Anger is my biggest enemy in life.
As human beings, nobody gets out of this world free. We all have to do some suffering before we leave.
My main objective is to be professional but to kill him.
When I fight someone, I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him.
If Mike Tyson is in your courtroom and you don’t send him to jail, it’s an injustice. Everyone knows he’s a bad guy. So if he is in your courtroom, he should go to jail.
The temptation for greatness is the biggest drug in the world.
I just love to fight. I like to hurt people. I haven’t lost that. I didn’t lose it when I first got a bit of wealth and I haven’t lost it now. The nature of my business is to hurt people.
Back when I was a kid, I never liked the kind of kids that my kids have become. They’re privileged and have things very easy. But I’m proud of them. None of my kids are getting high, they love school, they’re very popular.
Nothing is more humbling than getting your ass kicked.
Sometimes they laugh at things I don’t think are funny, but I believe if they’re laughing at me, it’s a good show.